Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic—The third edition of Impúlsate, the entrepreneurship platform of Banco Popular Dominicano, culminated with the awarding of three new projects by young university entrepreneurs. These projects share the common goal of being business initiatives with economic, social, and environmental impact.
The three winning initiatives are Agro360, Rider Lock, and Ozeano Swimwear, which stood out among 110 submitted proposals and were chosen by a jury from among 10 finalists.
The winner, Agro360, is a research, development, and sales company that offers exponential technological solutions for the global agricultural industry.
Meanwhile, the Rider Lock project is based on parking stations for motorcycles and bicycles, offering security, organization, and space optimization.
Finally, Ozeano Swimwear is a brand of eco-friendly swimwear made with fabric from recycled plastic bottles and with original designs.
Seed capital award
The winning teams receive seed capital of RD$3.3 million, which is disbursed as each project progresses according to their business plans.
These ventures also have access to the Enlaces angel investor network, Banco Popular's partners in this initiative.
In addition, several special mentions were awarded in this third edition of Impúlsate.
Once again, the Agro360 and Ozeano Swimwear projects received the mentions for the most innovative project and the project with the most votes from the public, respectively.
For its part, the Óleo Beauty project was recognized as having the greatest social impact, for integrating the community into the training, manufacturing, and distribution of natural, chemical-free hair care products.
These initiatives with special mention receive RD$250,000 each.
Entrepreneurship training
The competing teams in Impúlsate go through various elimination rounds until they reach the finalists who, after several weeks of training and knowledge leveling, must make a presentation to the jury.
The jury that selected the finalists and winners of this business development program was composed of Mr. José Miguel Checo, Director of Entrepreneurship for SMEs; Manuel Alejandro Grullón Hernández, President of the Dominican Association of Fintech Companies (Adofintech); and Giselle Roedán, Head of the Entrepreneurship Department of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology; as well as executives from Banco Popular in the areas of marketing, business, credit, public relations and digital banking, among others.
Entrepreneurial passion
In her keynote address at the awards ceremony, Giselle Moreno, Vice President of Marketing, highlighted how "Impúlsate has established itself as a platform that supports the entrepreneurial passion of Dominican university students, elevating their business literacy and guiding the vision of their business ideas to achieve positive economic, social, and environmental impacts."
The winning projects and mentions stood out for their dedication, the development of key competencies in team members, their experience, their capacity for innovation, and their vision for scaling the business.