Entrepreneurship

WISE 2022 STEM contest awards four outstanding Peruvian women for their innovative ventures.

Event aims to connect more women in the country with the entrepreneurial ecosystem and recognize their leadership.

In order to connect more women in the country with the entrepreneurial ecosystem and recognize their leadership, the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub UDEP of the Universidad de Piura awarded four outstanding Peruvian women for their innovative an entrepreneurships in the STEM Competition “WISE Peru 2022”.

Rocio Zapata, from the San Martin region, CTO & Cofounder of Kawát, and Cecilia Camarena, from Lima, CEO & Founder of Oraculus XR, were recognized as the first place winners (in the sales and prototype categories, respectively) in a ceremony attended by renowned actors of the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem, including mentors, entrepreneurs and representatives of the partner institutions of the WISE Peru Program.

In addition, Yosselin Huaman, CFO & Cofounder of Faraday Peru and Briggite Ocampo, CPO & Founder of PEOPL were recognized in second place in the sales and prototype categories, respectively.

“We are proud to see that the expected results have been achieved throughout this process, where each of the participants have demonstrated their leadership and have had the opportunity to present their STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) entrepreneurship. The winners will now have the opportunity to continue with their projects and will also inspire more women to join this network of STEM entrepreneurs in Peru,” said Eva Preciado, coordinator of the WISE Peru program.

He indicated that the first place winners will receive seed capital of S/3,000 (prototype category) and S/5,000 (sales category). In addition, the candidacy of Rocio Zapata, an innovator from the Peruvian region of San Martin, will be promoted for a scholarship to attend the IAF Seminar on Entrepreneurship to be held in Germany in 2023.

Innovative projects

Eva Preciado, coordinator of the WISE Peru program, also pointed out that these innovation proposals have a positive impact on society, since they help to improve people's quality of life.

The winning company, Kawát, produces an insect protein which, through bioconversion, is capable of replacing anchovy, corn and soybean meal. It also generates a by-product that serves as fertilizer to help the profitability of farmers.

Cecilia Camarena, also first place winner, presented Oraculus XR, an entrepreneurship that develops powerful educational tools focused on the education sector for training and teaching, based on virtual reality, allowing students to be transported to immersive laboratories in order to train more effectively, efficiently and motivated.

Briggite Ocampo also presented PEOPL, a chronic patient support program that, through a virtual assistant via Whatsapp for treatment management and an educational community, ensures that patients complete their treatment successfully. So far this year, it has enabled them to reach 400 cancer patients in just 4 months.

Lastly, Yosselin Huaman presented Faraday, an entrepreneurship that trains boys and girls from an early age in science and technology through educational robotics. This entrepreneurship trains children, teachers and STEM mentors using digital tools, electronic components and eco-friendly parts to design and assemble their own robot.

About the project

• The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub Center UDEP and the Universidad de Piura hosted the contest, which is also part of the components of the WISE Program - Women In STEM Entrepreneurship, an initiative of the IDB Lab and the IAE Business School of the Universidad Austral de Argentina.
• The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and Caja de Piura are the institutions that sponsored the Contest and the WISE Peru Program, respectively.
• The WISE Program is present in Latin America and is led by universities in Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. In addition, Chile and the Dominican Republic have joined in 2022 with the support of the United States.