2019

Yearin Review

We don't like to brag, but what a year!

Squared_logo

It’s already 2020 but there’s still a lot we have to celebrate about 2019 so allow us a quick look back! We met hundreds of very passionate entrepreneurs, partnered with organizations leading innovation and systemic change, revisited existing partnerships, expanded our team, launched new initiatives, and enjoyed every second of this incredible  journey. 

Your trust and support made this possible, so here’s a quick look at the impact we made together in 2019.

Bridge for Billions at a Glance

1001

Entrepreneurs
Supported

In 4 years, we have supported 1,001 entrepreneurs making us one of the largest early-stage incubators worldwide

782

Volunteer
Mentors

Our professional network of 700+ mentors means that entrepreneurs find mentors in their area of specialization to offer one-on-one support throughout their incubation program

58

Program
Administrators

We have created 58 innovation programs through partnerships with corporate and other organizations

Business Incubator

46%

Female
Entrepreneurs

At a gender ratio of 46% female to 54% male, we’re eliminating the bias against female entrepreneurs.

Year to Year Growth

2016
28 Enterprises
2017
224 Enterprises
2018
325 Enterprises
2019
459 Enterprises

Diversity & Representation

Here at Bridge, diversity is NOT a value we take for granted. The background and focus areas of our entrepreneurs and mentors has helped to create a rich community and reinforces our belief that entrepreneurial potential is everywhere. It’s been exciting to see that the flexible nature of our program enables many full-time workers to begin their startup journey without quitting their jobs. 

However, there’s still a lot of opportunity in 2020 to further bridge the gap between rural and urban entrepreneurs and expand to other under-served countries.

Diversity in Areas of Innovation:

Travel, Food, & Entertainment
24.3%
Education & Training
12.0%
Arts, Culture & Sports
10.5%
IT & High-Tech
9.1%
Health & Medical
8.1%
Cities, Housing, & Transportation
7.8%
Consulting, Finance, Insurance, & Legal
6.7%
Energy & Environment
6.1%
Agriculture & Fishing
5.1%
Beauty & Fashion
5.1%
Assistance, Civic Society and Human Rights
4.6%
Water & Sanitation
0.8%

Our entrepreneurs come from

1
countries

Diversity in Employment Status

Diversity in Location:

Previous access to other programs

Language of mentoring

Impact Made in 2019

Gradient_Active Startups_Ready to launch
0 %

Entrepreneurs still in business after 2 years

0 %

Entrepreneurs who said the training program was vital to the creation of their business

Gradient_Finance, Insurance, _ Legal
0 %

  Increase job creation after our incubation program

0 %

of the entrepreneurs 
complete the full program

Gradient_Entrepreneur Supported
0 %

Mentors are satisfied with the quality of projects in our incubation programs

Gradient_Proven Methodology
0 %

Entrepreneurs are satisfied with the quality of mentoring received

Gradient_Seed Capital
$ 0

Seed Funding awarded to entrepreneurs

Gradient_Foundations
$ 0

Total Financial aid given to disadvantaged entrepreneurs

Some of our entrepreneurs

AREX Blockchain Real EstateFounder Miguel (1st)

Miguel Linera

Founder of AREX Blockchain Real Estate

Spain - 2019

Democratize access to the real estate sector by eliminating international barriers to investment, bureaucracy and paperwork.

romania
Superfit

Serban Damian

Founder of Superfit

Romania - 2019

Supports athletes to make the right decisions for their well-being easily and reach their nutrition and sports goals.

edoctor founder

Che Francis Ndikum

Founder of eDoctar

Cameroon - 2019

edoctor

Telemedicine platform offering online remote medical consultations and mental health counseling across developing countries.

A few of our mentors

In 2019, we welcomed 461 new mentors into our Bridge Community. Here are a few of the professionals we work with

Experienced strategy architect with 13+ years experience in finance and management working to design new healthier schemes for circular economy.

Chief Business Officer @ ioBuilders, Currently focusing on Ventures around new blockchain-based businesses

30 years technology specialist with experience in business plans, service definition, project management.

Clients for whom we built programs in 2019

We cannot achieve our vision of democratizing access to entrepreneurship support alone. Here are a few of the corporate bodies and international organizations we’ve partnered with to develop innovation programs.

Service Partnerships

We are grateful for our various partners who offer our alumni and incubating entrepreneurs additional resources to grow their businesses.

IBMCloud

They are talking about us

Behind the scenes

Program Overhaul

Since June 2018, we’ve been working on creating an entirely new platform from zero and it became a reality in 2019. We completely rebuilt our program and pedagogy with enhanced features for entrepreneurs, mentors, and program admins.

Plus laptop device

We saw growth in our team as well

Since 2019 was a year of growth, we welcomed 8 amazing new talents from 5 different countries into our team.

Bridge for Billions Team

Nadia Gómez from Mexico

Andrea Carron

Andrea Carrón from USA

Robert Molina from USA

Andrea Zaragoza from Mexico

Bridge for Billions Team

Afia Bobia Amanfo from Ghana

Phoebe from UK

Rodrigo from Mexico

Sebastián from Costa Rica

What’s Next for 2020?

If we took a leap in 2019, watch out for us in 2020 as we begin our hike into new countries, pursue new partnerships, and launch new initiatives to make entrepreneurship support available to everyone, everywhere. Here are a few of the projects we will embark on in 2020.

Scaling Social & Impact Enterprises in Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh

A 4 year public- private development partnership (PPDP) between the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Roots of Impact and other stakeholders including investors, private sector organizations, incubators and support organizations for social enterprises

Work4Progress

Peru

Peru

A 2 year program in partnership with the ”La Caixa” Foundation with the objective of generating new employment opportunities for women and young adults.

The Leap

Worldwide

Worldwide

The Leap is our incubation program for early stage entrepreneurs around the world and in 2020, we will be looking to support 500 entrepreneurs from various sectors to develop their businesses.

IN-HABIT EU Project

Cordoba in Spain, Riga in Latvia, Lucca in Italy and Nitra in Slovakia.

Cordoba in Spain, Riga in Latvia, Lucca in Italy and Nitra in Slovakia.

3 Year project in partnership with the EU Commission to support the development of Development of (social) businesses that provide livelihood opportunities and promote healthier lifestyles in peripheral small and medium size cities

How to get involved

Looking to build an innovation program in your sector? Our project Specialists will be happy to have a chat with you

Pablo Santaeufemia
Pablo SantaeufemiaCEO & Co-founder
Global Projects
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Pablo is the co-founder and CEO of Bridge for Billions. He has been listed as Forbes 30Under30 and Ashoka Fellow. A native of Madrid, Spain, Pablo holds an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from Brown University and two master degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Technology Innovation Management from Carnegie Mellon. Pablo is fluent in English, Chinese and Spanish.
Julie Murat
Julie MuratCOO
France & Benelux
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Julie helps bold organizations collaborate with entrepreneurs who tackle global issues. She’s helped co-create programs such as one for BMW employees to develop their entrepreneurial skills while supporting changemakers globally, or with the EU commission to adress youth unemployment in the south of France.
Adolfo Berraquero
Adolfo BerraqueroBusiness Dev. Manager
Spain & Latin America
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Adolfo has specialized in the last 7 years in the development of corporate innovation ecosystems and in the connection with startups as an engine of economic growth for different companies, universities and public institutions.
Andrea Carron
Andrea CarronBusiness Dev. Manager
USA & Canada
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Andrea specializes in providing entrepreneurial solutions to your organizations’ most pressing issues. With a background in both the corporate world as well as in the NGO world, Andrea strikes the ideal balance between business and purpose and leverages this expertise to develop Bridge for Billions accross the Atlantic.
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