At the same time, Ingrid Claudet, general manager of the Wiese Foundation, announced that a second edition of the Entrepreneurship Fun is in development.
Last Wednesday, February 9, the closing ceremony of the first edition of the Wiese Foundation’s Entrepreneurship Fund took place, in an emotional semi-presential event which highlighted the testimonials and lessons obtained during these last two years of work, even in the middle of the pandemic.
The event was attended by the board of directors of the Wiese Foundation, headed by Vice President Augusto Wiese, board member Gonzalo de la Puente, general manager Ingrid Claudet; as well as the entrepreneurs Ricardo Rodríguez and Stephany Saavedra from Pixed; Valery Zevallos from Estrafalario; Carlos Sánchez and Cynthia Rodríguez from Empanacombi; and Jorge Gálvez and Alejandra Arias-Stella from Llama pack.
It was also attended by Orlando Borja, Michael McGregor, Susana Ferrel, Renato Peralta, Jimena Larrea, and Mauricio Andujor, mentors for the Entrepreneurship Fund.
“I want to share our joy, for us, this has been an intense project full of lessons. Both institutions (the Wiese Foundation and NESsT) are satisfied with the results, it achieved what we had hoped for. We are very happy with what has been achieved”, said Augusto Wiese, vice president of the Wiese Foundation.
“As a foundation, we have achieved what we have proposed. Thank you to everyone present, we know all of the effort that has been put into this, overcoming stressful moments due to the pandemic. It has been a great experience to get to know you all so closely, and without a doubt we will continue to support each other for a long time because, above all, you have a social objective just as we do. Congratulations to everyone”, added Gonzalo de la Puente, member of the Wiese Foundation board.
“We feel very satisfied to have been direct witnesses to the evolution and strengthening of the four social businesses that belonged to the first cohort of the Entrepreneurship Fund. This has been a wonderful program, full of learning and opportunities for improvement. We are very grateful to NESsT for all of the information they shared and that we have received and applied in this incredible context. Everything that we have learned we will incorporate into the next edition”, stated Ingrid Claudet during the closing ceremony.
“This was the first edition of our program for social innovation, in which we approached the ecosystem of social entrepreneurship for the first time, got to know its actors, and learned how this type of initiatives operates. The best thing about this whole experience is that, as we accumulated valuable lessons, we had the opportunity to sustain four incredible social businesses during the pandemic and strengthen the skills of their leaders, so that today they are ready for a new stage of growth”, the manager added.
A program full of lessons
The Entrepreneurship Fund of the Wiese Foundation was carried out before and during the global COVID-19 pandemic, which caused millions of deaths and the paralysis of various businesses throughout the world. As was to be expected, this put many start-ups on hold and constituted a new and unknown challenge for the members of the program.
Valery Zevallos, CEO of Estrafalario, got emotional as she remembered the support she received from the Entrepreneurship Fund for the proper development of her business during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Experiencing a pandemic without the support of the Wiese Foundation would have been very overwhelming. Receiving the support of the Entrepreneurship Fund made me feel safe, even to be a coach within my business, and thus lead and face all the challenges that presented themselves”, Valery Zevallos expressed emotionally.
“The coverage that the Wiese Foundation gave us during the pandemic was like a salve that calmed us one way or another. Knowing that we had their support gave us a secure space. It was great to receive the support of the organization”, added Carlos Sánchez from Empanacombi.
“Ever since they told us that we would be a part of the Fund, we knew that we were in the correct place. Even during the pandemic, we have felt super welcome. The support they have given us has been very important to help us carry on during this time. Today, the Fund comes to an end, and it is up to us to continue forward”, said Alejandra Arias-Stella, of Llama Pack.
The work carried out these last two years of the pandemic was not only a challenge for the beneficiary entrepreneurs of the Fund, but also for its mentors, who were there with them.
“The impact that we have had has been in the short and the long term, in the short term because they received their own spaces for introspection and reflection to see their capacities as leaders, and that is born from becoming conscious of what works in you as a person, but also what you could improve to become that better version of you. And in the long term because the tools that we have given them in the spaces that we developed for them have allowed them to lead people, work on strategies for talent that are not seen just in a quick response, but that are also progressively constructed”, stated Susana Ferrel, mentor for the Wiese Foundation’s Entrepreneurship Fund.
“From the entrepreneurs, I have taken from their passion, will, pride in their product, and effort to progress with what they have, in spite of all the adversities of the pandemic. Since the start I have seen them as organized, what we did was fine-tune some specifics”, added Renato Peralta, also a mentor for the Fund.
Second edition of the Entrepreneurship Fund
Following the closing ceremony for the first cohort of the program, Ingrid Claudet announced that a second edition of the Entrepreneurship Fund is in development, in which different important aspects that will soon be announced will be considered.
“We feel very satisfied to have been direct witnesses of the evolution and strengthening of the four social businesses that belonged to the first cohort of the Entrepreneurship Fund. In this line, we are now designing the second edition of the program and are in the process of selecting our strategic allies. We are very enthusiastic about what lies ahead”, shared Claudet.
“I recommend that the future entrepreneurs be very prepared, and above all ready to learn from the mentors, who are very high quality. We have learned a lot so take great advantage of the mentors, which can be one of the most valuable parts of this experience”, said Ricardo Rodríguez, from Pixed.
“The advice that I can give the future entrepreneurs is to always take one more step, to make an extra effort, that sometimes brushes on craziness, and to adapt to the times and the situation, to the new type of client, and finally, to believe in their product”, added Renato Peralta.
About the Entrepreneurship Fund
The Entrepreneurship Fund is an initiative of the Wiese Foundation that invests in ventures with clear potential for growth, sustainability, and social impact, whose mission is to address a relevant social problem in the country.
Empanacombi, Estrafalario, Llama Pack, and Pixed were the four businesses carefully selected for this first edition by the Wiese Foundation, together with NESsT, which fulfilled three important requirements: having been created with the mission of addressing a relevant social problem for the most vulnerable communities of the country, finding themselves in the first stages of their operation, and demonstrating the success of their business model in terms of its potential for economic growth, self-sustainability, and social impact.
The four ventures received specialized mentoring by a staff with experience in business, and tailored financing (soft loans, revolving donations, and grants) with formal commitments to commercial scalability, self-sustainability, and social impact.
Empanacombi, Estrafalario, Llama Pack, and Pixed are Peruvian social ventures that were able to stay afloat during the pandemic thanks to a significant amount of effort, creativity, and the support of the Solidarity Fund for Social Entrepreneurship of the Wiese Foundation (the Entrepreneurship Fund). You can read about all the details at the following link: https://www.fundacionwiese.org/en/solidarity-fund/entrepreneurial-fund
