Generously sponsored by Robin Luff, Jane McConnell, TJ Heyman, Luciana Cordova, and Flourish Trust

Paco Vargas

Finanzas con Sentido | Monterrey

Paco has a degree in International Business from UDEM and studied in Hong Kong.

Having began his career at an International Private Equity Firm and recognizing that 44% of Mexico’s population is living below the poverty line, Paco founded Finanzas con Sentido, a social initiative aimed at reducing poverty and foster a more equitable society through financial education.

Finanzas con Sentido’s goal is to democratize personal finance knowledge and market access, particularly in vulnerable areas and to make informed decisions and create a safety net.

Offering courses and consulting grounded in a humanistic approach, Finanzas con Sentido has educated over 600 participants.

Paco was awarded the CENEVAL Award for Excellence in Academic Performance (EGEL) for his university studies and has participated in a volunteer program building commerce through agriculture in Zambia, Africa. Currently, he is looking for partners such as local authorities and private firms to work in underserved communities and expand his reach

Jesús Maya

Eheco | Querétaro

Jesús has a degree in International Relations from Tec de Monterrey and is pursuing a Master in Transitional Justice at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law.

Jesús is the Founder of Eheco, a think tank that promotes compliance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Escazú Agreement. The venture designs compliance strategies for governments and companies to build conversations that include youth, encouraging their involvement on topics such as human rights.

Eheco has presented projects to Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Colombia’s Ministry of Environment. They secured roughly $1 million USD for innovation projects.

National Youth Award (2018) / “Young Innovator Creating a Better World for All” by the Women Economic Forum (2019) / 2X speaker at Tedx in Ventura Puente (2020) and TedxMorelia (2022). Delegate for the United Nations HLPF with MGCY (2023), Torchbearer for the SDGs at the SDG Action Weekend at Generaal Assembly (2023) /Participant at the ECLAC COP3 on the Escazú Agreement (2024)

José Nungaray

Fassets | Nuevo León

José has a degree in Mechanical Enginireeing and Business Management. He also interned in Germany, working on CNC Machine tools and Industrial Marketing

José is the Founder of Fassets, a fixed asset management venture dedicated to ensuring manufacturers in Mexico keep their machinery compliant and operational to maximize ROI and profitability.

By providing software that manages the legal documentation for each machine, Fassets helps manufacturers avoid fines. José is part of the Fit for Partnership program of the “GIZ” German Department of Economic Affairs. Additionally, he has assisted transnational companies in importing machinery and equipment to Mexico and establishing manufacturing/maquila facilities with the corresponding tax incentives.

As of January 2025, Fassets has surpassed the management of $50 million USD in manufacturing assets and aims to develop the largest manufacturing network in North America.

Fassets has helped prevent acquisition issues, avoiding fines totaling over $3.5 million USD.

José Ignacio

Epona Mexico | Mexico City, Mexico

José has a degree in Business Administration from Universidad Anáhuac and a Construction Management certificate from Columbia University.

José is the Founder of Epona Mexico which builds hydroponic greenhouses aimed at addressing water scarcity and enhancing food security. This innovative approach saves up to 80% more water compared to traditional agriculture. Beyond production, the venture offers training programs to local communities, empowering them with skills in sustainable farming, creating agricultural resilience.

Currently operating a 150 m² greenhouse that produces 5,000 heads of greens every month. Epona is using advanced materials to bring down the costs of production and will scale to produce 600,000 heads each month. Curretnly, Epona is working with a Chaapingo Universidad to develop photobio reactor that grows Spriolina and are developing a negzative CO2 plant fertilizer (bio stimulator) to help grow food with a negative foot print to bring down hunger by using less water and cheaper to produce.

They sell micro-greens to restaurants in Mexico City and are sdonating extras to Foundation Camino A Casa, housing children who have been victims of sexual exploitation.

Kelvin Perea

kAI | Tabasco

Kelvin Perea is a Petroleum Engineer from the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara.

Kelvin co-founded kAI—an innovative AI tool that transforms WhatsApp into the central command hub of your business, essentially the next generation of ERP systems. kAI has rapidly scaled its operations across multiple cities in Mexico.

The platform currently boasts an impressive monthly recurring revenue (MRR) of $4,500 USD, processing over 15,000 tasks per month in the B2B segment. Its effectiveness has attracted prestigious clients, including the Mexican Red Cross and various government entities in Southeastern Mexico.

kAI works with industry giants such as Intel and remains an active participant in the Google Accelerator. Additionally, the team raised a pre-seed investment round of $300,000 USD, fueling further innovation and expansion.

First Latin American startup with a commercial agreement with Intel Corporation, participating in Intel Innovation (2024) / Selected by Google for the AI First Accelerator in Latin America to enhance kAI AI model. / Winners of the ECL 7 Demo Day by Emprelatam / Members of the Wester-Welle Foundation.

Lu Araiza

Vuelco| Guadalajara

Lu has a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from the Universidad de Colima and a Master’s Degree in Sociology and Sustainability from Universidad de Baja California Sur.

Lu is the co-founder of Vuelco, a consultancy tackling the climate crisis and ecological impacts of the music industry while promoting social change. Lu has over five years of experience working in the music industry and has been invited as a speaker on sustainability at festivals such as Vive Latino, Corona Capital, FimPro, Portamerica amongst others.

Collaborating with festivals, artists, brands, and non-profits, Vuelco designs sustainable experiences focusing on energy, mobility, waste, water, and social participation. They have planted over 5,000 trees, recycled 10 tons of waste, and mobilized 900 volunteers across 17 cities. Amplifying the voices of 70+ non-profits, they have mitigated 130 tons of CO2 and engaged over 20,000 festival attendees, building a digital community of 10,000 people.

Lu was also a fellow for the Canadian – Latam Emerging Leaders program in 2018 and she makes documentary films, for which she has been awarded at Docs Mx, Zanate Film Fest and Mic Géner

Luz María Pérez Sánchez

Checkin | Mexico City, Mexico

Luz has an MBA from the Paris School of Business and Hotel Management from Insitut Vatel.

Luz is a passionate tourism leader with over 13 years of experience, including a successful tenure at the tourism giant Booking.com. Recognizing the underserved market of travelers over 50, she founded Checkin Global to bridge the gap in senior-friendly travel experiences. Checkin Global tackles the lack of accessibility and curated experiences for mature travelers. Through strategic partnerships with hotels, tour operators, and local attractions across Latin America, Luz and her team curate itineraries designed specifically for the needs and interests of this growing demographic.

Checkin Global’s innovative approach has garnered recognition from prestigious organizations like Open Seniors (University of Chile) and Pensar en Grande (Uruguay). With a robust network of 400 industry contacts established across Mexico, Chile, Guatemala, Bolivia, and Peru, Checkin Global is poised for continued expansion throughout Latin America.

Campamento Nacional Posible 2024 – Best 100 entrepreneurs in Mexico / Google for Startups Program / Acceleration program for Open Seniors in Chile December 2024 to May 2025 / 7th place overall Flagship Fellowship 2024 Watson Institute

Maria Fernanda (Fer) de la Cerda Sanchez

Fundación Corazón Raíz – Mexico City

Fer holds a law degree with a specialization in Amparo Law from Universidad Panamericana.

She is the Co-Founder of Corazón Raíz, an organization dedicated to addressing educational disparities in indigenous and rural communities in Mexico and Uganda. Corazón Raíz employs a community-centered and collaborative model with three primary programs: Education Infrastructure, Training and Empowerment, and Institutional Sustainability. They constructed a preschool, with a library, in the Nahua community of Cuahuixtlahuac, serving 20 preschool children and one teacher.

Additionally, Corazón Raíz has impacted 300 teachers and benefited 7,000 basic education students in La Sierra de Zongolica, Veracruz, and Mexico.

Corazón Raíz helped in rebuilding schools in Uganda which served 300 students, enhancing educational opportunities for the local community. Corazón Raíz supported over 400 indigenous women victims of violence and provided education to 270 students in Uganda.

Mariana Rangel

Reshaping Cities | Mexico City

Mariana Rangel has a degree in Political Communication from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico (UNAM).

Mariana is the Founder and CEO of “Reshaping Cities,” a Mexican NGO promoting more sustainable, healthier, and human-centered cities. Through her grassroots programs promoting biking and walkable communities, she has benefited 11,000+ people, reached over 600,000 users through social media and traditional press, closed 15 partnerships with high-level institutions and given +20 interviews on TV, radio, and digital news outlets. She convened a cross-organization project to intervine crosswalks and public spaces near an elementary and middle school in Mexico City, impacting +1000 students, family members and neighbors.

She is also the founder of “Native-Speaker Spanish” an online language school with over 4 years of experience. She has raised over 60,000 USD and worked with +60 students from the US, Canada and overseas.

Global Shaper by the World Economic Forum (WEF) / Young Leader for Mexico, German Foundation Konrad Adenauer / Changemaker X Change

Miroslava (Miros) Rodríguez

Erandi Aprende | Mexico City

2024-2025 Rising Leaders of Mexico Fellowship Miroslava is the co-Founder and CTO of Erandi Aprende, a bilingual AI-powered app designed to empower Latina girls and youth, ages 8-12, in STEAM by addressing cultural biases and fostering creativity, critical thinking, and inclusion.

She is a mentor at NASA Johnson Space Center’s Girls in STEM initiative and has contributed to developing STEM educational content with MIT.

While the app is in its early stages, Erandi Aprende has reached over 25,000 children through workshops and digital courses since 2020. The platform serves schools and STEM instructors seeking to boost engagement and academic performance, ensuring no one is left behind. Erandi Aprende has raised $28,000 in capital.

UNICEF Youth Challenge Global Winner (2020) / Halcyon Incubator Fellowship (2022) / MIT Solve – Global Learning Challenge Finalist (2024) / Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Learner / Meets Future: AI-Enabled Assessments Challenge Finalist (2024) / One Young World Ambassador (2022 / U.S. State Department Global Innovation Through Science and Technology (GIST) Initiative Pitch Competition Finalist (2022) / Nasdaq – Milestone Makers Program (2024) / New America – Learning Sciences Exchange Fellow (2024)

Regina Paredes Gorostieta Jiménez

Muevetex |Toluca

Regina has a degree in Urban Planning from Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México.

Regina is the founder and CEO of Muevetex. After experiencing the inefficient public transport in Mexico, she started mapping by herself the bus network and evolved to a collaborative mapping strategy. This led to the digitalization of 97% of the network in one of the main urban regions of Mexico. Muevetex developmented the only trip planning app in the region, which allows to users to plan journeys, share traffic updates and access to gender foucsed safety alerts.

Muevetex has +60,000 users and has collaborated with local governments to implement sustainable mobility strategies, aiming to build an AI model to optimize the whole system.

Puentes de Talento Ambassador – Madrid Innovation (2024) / Linkedln Top Voice (2024) / Propel Fellow (2023) /First Place – Gambaremos (2022) / Climate Youth Ambassador COP 26 / Secretariat of Foreign Affairs & British Council / Local Pathways Fellow / United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (2021) / Best Social Entrepreneurship focused in Technology – Fundación Azteca (2021) / Active Citizen – British Council (2021) / Winner “Con Todo Challenge” /
Socialab & Disruptivo TV/ one of the 30 under 30 Young Voices of Transport recognized by the GIZ.