Socialab, the brand new innovation of TECHO Chile

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Elena Slotosch

Yesterday – Latin America’s fastest growing NGO brought us this exciting news – “Socialab” was made public as a part of TECHO, formerly Centro de Innovación.

You might ask yourself… what and who is Socialab?

Socialab is a social entrepreneur platform which aims at developing solutions for the problems of the poorest communities in Chile (e.g. poverty, inequality, etc.) through co-creation and networking with a variety of people in the society.

TECHO Chile and its new born initiative Socialab are convinced that, first of all, we need to understand these kind of problems that we associate with those living at the base of the economic pyramid (BoP) in Chile and the whole continent in general, but with a multidimensional perspective.

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Chile Pi: Singularity University intrigued by transcendental possibilities in the region

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Shonika Proctor

Editor’s Note:This post is 1 of 2. The 2nd post will provide our Singularity University transcription from our interview with Salim Ismail, Vivek Wadhwa and Andrew Hessel.

While Chile is often seen as the country at the end of the Earth, ironically, it is not where South America ends. If one were to travel here, they would see that it is actually where it truly begins.

This storied and enchanted land is filled with tremendous economic development opportunities, natural resources, spirited, unified and determined citizens, and a rising middle class that provides a growing and dynamic market to create, launch and test new ideas.

With a 106% mobile penetration and top ranking among countries worldwide in terms of social network adoption per capita makes Chile an extremely attractive market for development in the mobile and technology space. And it also lends the possibility to scale throughout other markets in Latin America and/or Asia.

The Latin American market is very “vibrant”, as there is a growing number of people who have a smartphone for the first time and even people who are having their first experience with a mobile device. Latin America is also a source of innovation of products and applications at lower cost. – Stephen Elop, Nokia CEO

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Open and Social Innovation: Techolab determined to bring ‘just this’ for all

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Shonika Proctor

Editor’s Note: This story is republished from Shonika Proctor’s December 2011 monthly print column in I Love Chile English language newspaper where the article first appeared.

‘What if’ are two of the most powerful words found in the innovation and entrepreneurship space. They are the words that lead us to dream a bigger dream, play with possibilities and create solutions from the edge of our potential. Jesuit Priest Felipe Berríos SJ’s ‘What If’ question was:

‘What if we could eradicate extreme poverty for those living at the base of the economic pyramid in Chile?’

Before I finish the story of what happened next, it goes without saying that if I were to ask that question to 100 different people from different backgrounds, with or without varying levels of education, careers, socio-economic statuses and so forth, I could very well receive 100 different answers. And if I then grouped those 100 people together coupled with a social network and funding source to implement those ideas this would be Techolab and thus the power and potential of open and social innovation. Continue reading →

Techolab announces winners in its debut competition (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Shonika Proctor

Editors Note: This is Part 2 of a 2 part post. Part 1 introduces Techolab, Latin America’s Largest Open and Social Innovation Platform.

Techolab, Latin America’s largest open and social innovation network and incubator has successfully completed its first contest ‘Desafío Clave’ (Key Challenge), sponsored by INJUV. Three winners, selected out of a pool of nearly 800 applicants, walked away with $60,000 USD each to further research and build out their respective projects.

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Techolab: Latin America’s Largest Open and Social Innovation Platform (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Shonika Proctor

Techolab is an open and social innovation ‘virtual’ platform and incubator co-created by the Center for Innovation at Un Techo Para Chile, one of Latin America’s fastest growing NGO’s (currently in 19 LatAm countries and USA) and Pullcolab, a Chilean based technology startup dedicated to implementing and managing social communities of innovation and entrepreneurship, using technology designed by the company called “Workcolab.” (Sidebar: Pullcolab were the guys who did an incredible job on the platform design for Startup Weekend Chile 2010). In its first 5 months, more than 8,000 people have registered to the Techolab community.

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