Six Colombians made it to the final round of the American Innovators competition, a seed project of the Latin American Development Bank that offers contestants the chance to win $40,000 to fuel the expansion of their innovative projects.
The American Innovators Award seeks to discover, recognize, and award outstanding projects in the six fields of education, science and technology, design, sustainability and ecology, business and industry, and community development.
“It is the first award in Latin America to recognize the most innovative and influential projects in the fields of science, economy, business, and social initiatives with their creators and the organizations that make them a reality.
Out of 700 award applicants, the judges have chosen 15 finalists from Colombia, Argentina, Panama, Venezuela, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Ecuador. Six of which are from Colombia, the country with the most finalists this year.
The winner of each category will be awarded $40,000 dollars for their innovation, and anyone in the world can vote online for their favorite finalists from October 7 to November 7.
Colombians Gabriel Jaime Ramirez Zapata and Javier Mauricio Agudelo Rendon may just take the prize in the category of “Business and Industry.” Andres Ramirez Velez and Ricardo Andres Ibanez Gutierrez are up for the award for “Sustainability and Ecology.”
Luis Angarita is one of three competitors for the “Design” prize and Jorge Enrique Leal Rodriguez has the chance to win for his project in “Education.”
The competition’s purpose is to “recognize and promote the Latin American innovators whose creative contributions are so important that they become models from which to draw lessons with the potential to benefit many.”
