Entrepreneurship, a family affair

Entrepreneurship has been a topic that new generations are passionate about in recent years. Millions of young people increasingly admire the stories of the CEOs of startups like Rappi, Bold, La Haus, MercadoLibre, Airbnb, Netflix, among other organizations, who have stood out for their great effort and for making an impact with an innovative technological product, which is now part of the new economy and the engine of change in the construction of a more balanced, inclusive and sustainable world.

(To undertake, a family ‘business’).

However, for many, entrepreneurship has become just a dream, a challenge that involves tears, smiles, anger and which many do not feel prepared to assume. Factors that the Carvajalino sisters knew how to understand from a very young age: Daniela, Karen and Stephanie Carvajalinothree Colombian businesswomen who through their teachings have built a community in their social networks of more than a million young people who aspire to be the next Latin American entrepreneurs.

To fulfill their mission, these sisters who are originally from Cartagena, add outstanding achievements to their careers such as having created an education platform (The Biz Nation) that was recognized by the World Economic Forum; having been selected by former President Barack Obama to lead the world entrepreneurship summit in Silicon Valley; They were chosen as the best social entrepreneurs by 14 Nobel Peace Prize winners and declared historical and cultural heritage by the Colombian Government.

(The Biz Nation, one of the most innovative companies in education).

However, one of the achievements that stands out the most is having been invited to give talks and conferences in more than 25 countries, where they always sought to leave a “trace” and impact millions of young people about the values ​​offered by entrepreneurship and education. .

Karen Carvajalino points out that Colombia is a country full of opportunities and with a lot of work to do and it is precisely this entrepreneurial spirit that they want to promote and promote.

“For this reason, we need to speak to young people in a language that motivates and transforms them, and we do this by offering them an approach with great exponents and models that allow them to connect and show them that they are capable of doing things that they propose”, added Karen Carvajalino, who was awarded last year with the Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) award, for cultivating a business with a positive impact that is a generator of employment and opens the way for more entrepreneurs.

Recently, a survey carried out by the Universidad del Rosario and other entities with the support of the Swedish embassy, ​​discovered that of 1,822 young people from different regions of the country, 72% say that dedicating themselves to entrepreneurship in Colombia is increasingly difficult, and among the main obstacles they highlighted was the lack of financial resources (58%); the little government support (35%) and the difficulty in formalizing undertakings, such as registering with the chamber of commerce or obtaining the NIT (18%).

Part of these reasons that these entrepreneurs have heard for years, was what led them to create the The BizFestthe largest entrepreneurship festival for young people in Latin America, unique in its format, since something like this has never been seen before in the entire region.

Its impact has been of such magnitude that in its fourth version they managed to fill the Movistar Arena, in the city of Bogotá, with more than 14,000 people, who had the opportunity to learn and listen to the stories of luxury guests as diverse as the influencer with more than 20 million followers on their social networks and businesswoman, Luisa Fernanda W; the triple jump queen, Olympic medalist and world champion, Caterine Ibargüen; the new shark of Shark Tank Colombia, Álvaro Rodríguez, the president of Andi, Bruce Mac Master, and outstanding young people such as Marce La Recicladora and El Borrego, among others.

Daniela Carvajalino pointed out that this festival is an initiative in which they seek to provide opportunities and motivation related to entrepreneurship for young people, a space in which they wanted to show Colombians that they can dream and learn from real stories that are not told behind of the most important influencers, athletes, artists, businessmen and singers, “and as a consequence of this, a new context arises in which more people bet on forming a company, creating new projects that generate impact or opening up to work with companies from all over the world.”

It should be noted that the interest of this meeting was also based on the strengthening and creation of opportunities for young people from vulnerable and at-risk communities in the country, among which were the presence of students and schools from the sectors of Chapinero, Engativá, Ciudad Bolívar, Suba, Teusaquillo in Bogotá, in addition to Cajicá, Zipaquirá, Sopó and Tabio.

In addition, it was priceless, since it had the support of companies such as The Biz Nation, Movistar, Fundación Telefónica, Compensar, Cartagena International School, the Carvajalino Sisters, Mercado Libre, Bogotá Chamber of Commerce, iNNpulsa, Sena, Carbomax, Arcos Dorados and Kotex.

In the midst of a panorama where young people seek to understand how to undertake, economies and societies are changing, and the world is transformed, the Carvajalino sisters continue touring all regions of the country and other destinations in Latin America to teach, motivate and let fly the dreams of the next generation of entrepreneurs, who are in charge of building the future.