Content Overview

SUBJECT TO MINOR CHANGES
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Plenary

Plenary Speakers

May 28, 09:00-09:30 in Great Hall Full
President Iván Duque Márquez
President of Colombia

May 27, 08:15 - 08:30 in Great Hall Full
Marta Lucia Ramírez
Vice President of Colombia

May 28, 18:15 - 18:30 in Great Hall Full
Sylvia Constaín
MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES
MINTIC Colombia

Keynotes

Learning to Change the World-The story of One Laptop per Child

May 27, 08:45-09:30 in Great Hall Full

The One Laptop per Child (OLPC) initiative was born in MIT’s Media Lab and was the first major technology initiative in the education space. Its mission was to target the bottom-of-the-pyramid countries, providing laptops that brought the world “library” to the poorest and most remote parts of the Earth. As President, Chuck provided the business direction to a project that delivered over 3 million computers worldwide as well as the educational software and services to make the deployments successful. In this keynote, he will highlight the challenges of the nonprofit world.

Charles Kane
Senior Lecturer
MIT
Keynote

May 27, 17:00-17:45 in Great Hall Full

In this talk, Professor Lester will talk about some of the knowledge and practices that have helped thousands of companies launch from MIT.  He will also talk about MIT’s work around the world in education, research, and innovation, and why this is such an important part of our mission.  Additionally, he will talk about the importance of taking the societal implications of technology into account when working in science and technology.

Richard Lester
Associate Provost for International Activities
MIT
How AI is transforming business

May 28, 08:15-09:00 in Great Hall Full

In this talk, Adriana will explain how artificial intelligence allows companies to transform themselves. Although its rise is recent, AI has become an important ally for entrepreneurs. It is a powerful tool that helps companies adapt to the increasingly changing needs of customers, achieve better results, distribute resources, and transform to the next level.

Adriana Noreña
VP
Google Spanish Speaking Latin America
The Role of Space Technology to Support Sustainable Development

May 28, 17:30-18:15 in Great Hall Full

Danielle leads the new Space Enabled Research Group at the MIT Media Lab, which advances justice in Earth’s complex systems by increasing access to space technology for development leaders around the world and by applying space technology in support of the Sustainable Development Goals, as curated by the United Nations. During these projects, Space Enabled implements an integrated design process that includes techniques from engineering design, art, social science, complex systems modeling, satellite engineering and data science. During this talk, Danielle will discuss the role of space to spur innovation and development and give examples of projects pursued by the Space Enabled Research Group.

Danielle Wood
Professor at the MIT Media Lab
Director of the MIT Space Enabled Research Group

Panels

Ask Me Anything: Startup Founders

May 27, 10:15 - 11:30 in Great Hall A

Starting a company is no easy task, and while there are no set rules for succeeding, experience can prove very helpful. This panel features startup founders from various industries, from agrotech to education, gaming to banking. Hear from five entrepreneurs who will discuss what they learned on their journeys to becoming leading innovators and the keys to being a successful founder.

Camila Petignat
Principal
The Yield Lab LATAM
Freddy Vega
CEO
Platzi
Pierpaolo Barbieri
CEO & Founder
Ualá
Nick Meyer
Co-Founder at Relativity6
Senior Lecturer at MIT Sloan
Chris Howard (Moderator)
CEO & Co-Founder
The Rattle
Advanced Technologies and Social Entrepreneurship

May 27, 13:30 - 14:30 in Great Hall A

With the tech industry expanding more rapidly than ever, there are countless opportunities to use tech for your next big idea. Identifying an open problem that can be addressed with a simple and effective solution is challenging, and this panel features experts who will share first-hand experiences on how technology helped to transform ideas into ventures that contribute back to society.

Carolina Medina Gutierrez
Entrepreneur
Consultant
Diego Benitez
CEO & Founder
SiembraViva
Lesley Millar Nicholson
Director
MIT Technology Licensing Office
Maier Avendano
Senior Associate, Flagship Pioneering & Head of Innovation
Invaio Sciences
David Londoño
Corporate Marketing Director
Claro Colombia
Megan Mitchell (Moderator)
Acting Director
MIT Legatum Center for Development & Entrepreneurship
Pathways to Investment

May 27, 14:45 - 16:15 in Great Hall A

Raising capital is one often one of the most challenging steps in the entrepreneurial journey. This can be even more difficult in Colombia, where capital is hard to come by, if you even know where to look. In this panel, hear about what regional entities are doing to close this gap, and help entrepreneurs reach their investment goals.

Javier Villamizar
Partner
SoftBank Investment Advisors
Catalina Gutierrez
Business Solutions Manager
Fintech Regional, NXTP Labs
Óscar Rodríguez
Innovation Vice President
Grupo Bolívar
Gregorio Márquez
Managing Director
InQLab
Carlos Castañeda Olaya (Moderator)
Open Innovation Leader
Accenture
Building the Colombian Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

May 28, 10:15 - 11:15 in Great Hall A

A key goal of the MIT Global Startup Workshop is to identify challenges unique to entrepreneurial ecosystems around the world and understand how an essential combination of MIT and local expertise can be brought to bear on these challenges. This panel will explore how important stakeholders in the Colombian entrepreneurial ecosystem can work together to accelerate and sustain growth.

Travis Hunter (Opener)
Executive Director
MIT Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program
Francisco Matiz
Entrepreneurship Manager
EAN
Tatiana Léon
Director of Entrepreneurship Projects
Connect Bogotá Región
Juan David Castaño Alzate (Moderator)
Director of Macro-Business Articulation
Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá
Victor Manuel Muñoz Rodriguez
Advisor for Digital Transformation and Innovationr
MinTIC
Carolina Lorduy
Manager
Technology Education Corporation Colsubsidio
Learning From Colombia's Success Stories

May 28, 15:45 - 16:45 in Great Hall A

Colombia is a growing hub for innovation. This panel features some of Colombia's leading entrepreneurs who have scaled companies from their foundations. Join this session for the opportunity to hear a diverse group of entrepreneurs share the lessons they learned and the biggest challenges they faced in the startup world.

Paula Mendoza
Designer & Founder
Paula Mendoza Jewelry
Felipe Chavez
CEO & Co-founder
Kiwi Campus
Julián Torres Gomez
CEO & Founder
Fitpal
Ignacio Vidal
Founder & Executive Director
Socialab Colombia
Ignacio Gaitán Villegas (Moderator)
President and CEO
iNNpulsa

Fireside Chats

Innovation For Impact

May 27, 10:15 - 11:30 in Great Hall B

Enduring innovations are those that have the greatest impact. In this fireside chat, Luis and Isabel will address the key components of leading a social enterprise. Learn how Poverty Spotlight helps communities to lift themselves out of poverty and how to build, sustain, and grow your own community-based social enterprise.

Luis Fernando Sanabria
COO
Fundacion Paraguaya
Isabel Guerrero
Director at IMAGO Global Grassroots
Lecturer at Harvard Kennedy School
The Insights of a Serial Entrepreneur

May 27, 13:30 - 14:30 in Great Hall B

As the co-founder of several companies, an angel investor, a judge on Shark Tank Colombia, and now the head of an accelerator, Alex has seen it all when it comes to entrepreneurship. A self-proclaimed “accidental entrepreneur”, Alex has witnessed many paths to success and knows what factors contribute most to a long-lasting venture. Join us to hear his story and his take on how to build a startup.

Alex Torrenegra
CEO at Torre
Investor at Shark Tank Columbia
Joaquin Richards (Moderator)
Senior Product Manager
Nubank
Fintech Opportunities in Latin America

May 28, 10:15 - 11:15 in Great Hall B

The Fintech startups are on the cusp of transforming the Latin American financial landscape and it’s estimated that their market will exceed $150 billion by 2021. Last year, it was the No. 1 sector of venture capital investments —and there are no signs of it slowing down. By investing in the region and working to solve the area’s unique financial challenges, the potential is there for Latin America to become a key player in the global economy.

Santiago Suarez
Co-Founder and CEO
Addi
Edwin Zácipa
Managing Director
Colombia Fintech
Pierpaolo Barbieri
CEO & Founder
Ualá
Julian Robledo (Moderator)
Director of Business Services
CCB
The Future of Digital Technologies

May 28, 15:45 - 16:45 in Great Hall B

Join us for an exciting conversation between leading experts from two of the largest tech organizations: MIT and Amazon. Kathleen will offer her insights on the future of human and computing as well as how to create ventures in this space, and Jeffrey will share his international experience working with startups and governments on big data, cybersecurity, disaster response, and more.

Kathleen Kennedy
Executive Director
MIT Center for Collective Intelligence
Jeffrey Kratz
General Manager & Regional Head
Amazon Web Services Latin America, Canada & Caribbean

Workshops

Entrepreneurship 101

May 27, 14:45 - 16:15 in Great Hall B

The workshop will cover the various stages of a startups during the process of raising capital. It will cover what to say, but as importantly, what *not* to say to potential investors, co-founders, team members, and partners. Chris will use examples of some of the world's most recognized companies to demonstrate how to communicate your ideas and how to overcome early-startup hurdles. A mixture of lecture, pitch workshop, and quiz -- the session will be intense and fast-paced. Bring a notebook.

Chris Howard
CEO & Co-Founder
The Rattle
How to be a Founder and a Manager

May 27, 14:45 - 16:15 in Laureles

A startup is a complex social landscape where the financial, social, and emotional are inherently tangled and rapidly shifting. Employees are often more like founders, and co-founders are often friends or family. In the stress of chasing speed, startup founders often ignore day-to-day people management. But startups are a marathon, and ignoring this crucial tactical skill is a sure path to the deadpool. In this workshop we talk milestones, hiring and firing, tools vs process, communication and feedback, and more as we learn how serial founders operate.

Nick Meyer
Senior Lecturer
MIT & CPO, Relativity6L
Creating a Business Plan

May 27, 14:45 - 16:15 in Palmas

Creating a business plan is a journey of discovery: discovery of your business and, ultimately, your passion. Sorin Grama, an experienced entrepreneur and an educator at MIT, has written multiple business plans. In this interactive session he will outline the essential elements that every business plan must have.

Sorin Grama
Co-Founder
Transaera, Inc.
How to Raise Venture Capital

May 28, 11:00 - 13:30 in Great Hall B

Learning how to raise capital is a crucial part of starting a business. Santiago and Joaquin, both MIT Sloan School of Management MBAs, bring extensive experience in entrepreneurship and finance across the private and public sectors. The workshop will cover how to design a financial plan tailored to your business model, find a finance partner, and close a successful funding round.

Santiago Melo
Senior Product Manager
Amazon
Joaquin Richards
Senior Product Manager
Nubank
Product Design

May 28, 11:00 - 13:30 and 14:00 - 15:30 in Laureles

Product. Service. Experience. The world is changing rapidly and companies are realizing they need to not only satisfy basic functional needs, but also allow their products to interact richly within a rapidly growing service environment—or risk being cast aside. MIT Media Lab lecturer and the VP Design of Continuum, Lee's interactive presentation will explore how human-centered design methods can be used to help companies integrate new technology experiences into our everyday lives.

Lee Moreau
VP
Design at EPAM Continuum
Scaling up for Greater Impact

May 28, 11:00 - 13:30 and 14:00 - 15:30 in Palmas

Former World Bank economist and current expert in helping social entrepreneurs scale up, Isabel will answer some of the critical questions companies and organizations often face when looking to expand. This workshop will provide you with a framework to help you understand the different pathways to scale, and challenge you to rethink and reassess the strategy, operations, and systems needed for greater impact.

Isabel Guerrero
Director, IMAGO Global Grassroots & Lecturer
Harvard Kennedy School