Expanding our Network
The last two days have been devoted to solidifying our partnerships. We plan to execute our second pilot with a consulting firm that focuses on micro-enterprises, Vinculo Communitario. Vinculo’s co-founders – Noe and Juan – are our closest friends in Mexico.
Thursday began bright and early. Noe and Juan had arranged a very packed itinerary for us, involving meetings with a corporate lawyer, a tax attorney, and a visit to Vinculo’s micro-business clients in the North of the city. We discussed intensely with the lawyers the legal implications of directing foreign investments to micro and small businesses in Mexico – a very stimulating conversation and lots of information overload!
In the evening, we stopped for dinner at a taco place owned by one of Vinculo’s most successful clients – Senor Juan. Senor Juan scaled his business from a tiny 2 sq m stand to a full restaurant through Vinculo’s guidance. Next, we visited Frances, a very strong-spirited women, who is planning to scale her snack stand to a full shop, where kids can come with their families to enjoy some food and play games. We were so impressed by both businesses and hope to evaluate their plans for funding in our next pilots.
Sometimes the experiences we have here really take us by surprise. Friday was one of those days! In the morning, we were invited by Mr. Mario Rechy, a policy advisor to the Senate, for breakfast to learn about his work in agricultural economics. Mario Rechy had invited various other organizations – an investment company, NGOs, Vinculo, and a representative from the Senate. The meeting turned out to be a very colorful discussion on how we could all invest in cooperatives to promote rural development. This was yet another opportunity for us to expand our network in Mexico.
Later that afternoon, we joined our friends Noe, Juan, and another old friend who is working with Vinculo and starting his own investing arm, Tomas. Over coffee, we talked endlessly about our work together and reflected on the morning’s meeting. Above, there’s us with our partners!
