Irene Garcia

My second week in Mexico has been pretty awesome.  As I mentioned in my previous post, I was able to help with the interviewing process of some entrepreneurs, and got to know and understand their business models and products. By the end of the week the team of analysts and I had chosen about 50 companies.

We had to present these to the selection committee, which had to narrow down to 20 of them for a conference that will take place next September. I also had the opportunity to participate in the selection process, giving my input about the companies and sharing my opinion. The three main selection criteria were innovation, scalability and of course, impact.

I have reflected on the great opportunity I am having. Everyone has been including me since the very beginning, which makes me feel very well integrated within the team, and the activities I am doing are very interesting. As the organization is small, you are given much more responsibility than in a big corporation, which is allowing me to transfer academic knowledge into new practical business skills.

Although I am busy I have had some time to visit some towns around Mexico City. Mexico reminds me of Venezuela in some aspects, but it is quite different in others, and I am really enjoying and eager to get to know the Mexican way of life and culture more.

I just arrived last week, and I am already loving Mexico! People are so friendly, the city has some very beautiful places and the food is great!

This week I was able to join the accelerator team and help them with the selection of entrepreneurs for an event that will take place in a couple of weeks. They received about 200 applications and need to choose 30. I had the opportunity to interview a couple of the entrepreneurs, and I must say it has been a great and exciting experience! Through the entrepreneurs you are able to learn about so many different fields and businesses (my interviews ranged from bio-remediation to software to housing!).

The companies that reach the next phase will have the opportunity to present their ideas at a conference and raise funds from investors.

The interviews allowed me to think strategically and critically about the business ideas, and use the knowledge acquired at the training in Monterey. I am looking forward to continuing to learn about the entrepreneurs the next week!

As the concept of impact investment has developed and interest in it has grown, investment opportunities have emerged in many countries and across many different sectors. But there is one subsector that has been often overlooked: housing.

Inadequate housing is a problem that, according to Unhabitat, affects 1.6 billion people already. Moreover, cities in developing countries are growing at a very fast pace, and the housing deficit will correspondingly rise if is not properly addressed.  The development of useful and lasting solutions in the housing arena will require the collaboration of public and private parties and huge amounts of persistence, but if impact investors really want to improve the lives of the poor, the housing problem must receive the attention it deserves.

Although challenges such as the lack of land titles, the intensive and patient capital requirements and local political problems have kept investors wary, the magnitude of the improvements in people’s lives that could be achieved through the provision of this fundamental need should make them realize the large social and economic opportunities that are contained within the development of the sector.

Yes, it is a very complex problem, but didn’t impact investment emerge to make a difference through investments? Because there is a huge difference to be made by allowing a person to have access to a shelter, better health, security and the improvement of  their overall well-being.  We should not ignore a rough diamond just because it doesn’t have the sparkle yet. Given the importance that housing has for people and society, finding the way to provide affordable ones and making it sustainably both financially and environmentally could turn housing into one of impact investment’s most precious gems.

The good news is that the way has started to be paved and some impact players are acknowledging the role of housing as an essential issue to break the poverty cycle and leading the way forward. Lets hope they set the trend!