Momentum Updated: 19 Dec 2019

BBVA Momentum celebrates its most international edition in 2019

BBVA Momentum will hold its 2019 global closing event on March 3, 2020. This year, the BBVA program in support of social entrepreneurship has broken its own record by accelerating the growth of 169 companies from the United States, Turkey, Mexico, and Colombia.

Communications

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Selected entrepreneurs rounded out this year's program by attending Pitch Day, the final event of the series held locally in each participating country. Social businesses used Pitch Day to present their growth plans and showcase what these intense months of training and teamwork have produced. Below, a glimpse into how it went per country.

The United States

Gifts for Good, the company that provides a source of corporate gifts with a social impact, took home the BBVA Momentum U.S. edition first prize of $100,000 (approximately €90K). "All the judges agreed that Gifts for Good is already a solid business and ready to scale, which is saying something, considering the incredibly strong field of social entrepreneurs we had this year," said BBVA director of Communications and Responsible Business and final pitch judge Reymundo Ocañas.

Gifts for Good, the company that provides a source of corporate gifts with a social impact, took home the BBVA Momentum U.S. edition first prize of $100,000.

Magic City Woodworks, a manufacturing company that hires young people facing employment barriers, was awarded the second prize of $50,000 (approximately €45K); and the third place prize of $25,000 (€22.5K) went to The PIC Place, a health clinic that provides care to individuals in financial need.

Entrepreneurship & Startups

Why Social Enterprise Matters

Two young friends on a surfing trip to Bali, shocked by the heaps of plastic they found washed up on the beach, returned to the United States with an entrepreneurial vision to clean the ocean. Their company, 4Ocean, promises to remove one pound of trash from oceans and coastlines with the sale of every one of its $20 bracelets, which are made from recycled plastic and glass bottles. In roughly two years, the venture, which now employs more than 150 people around the planet, reports that it has recovered over 4 million pounds of trash.

Turkey

Pitch Day for BBVA Momentum in Turkey concluded with the announcement of the local winning entrepreneurs: Es Kariyer, Puduhepa ve Kız Kardeşleri and Mumo Wrap, all of whom, like their U.S. Counterparts, received a cash prize.

Pitch Day for BBVA Momentum in Turkey concluded with the announcement of the local winning entrepreneurs: Es Kariyer, Puduhepa ve Kız Kardeşleri and Mumo Wrap.

The program has decisively established itself in Turkey where it has completed its third year. "It is a powerful initiative through which we can support social enterprises. These socially active start-ups are becoming more active and gaining more visibility in our country", explained Garanti BBVA executive vice president, Cemal Onaran.

Momentum

An overview of the social enterprises participating in BBVA Momentum 2019

The number of finalists in this year’s edition of BBVA Momentum, BBVA’s social entrepreneurship support program, has grown exponentially to 169 enterprises from Colombia, United States, Mexico and Turkey. All these enterprises compose a mosaic that perfectly reflects the social and environmental concerns of global society.

The three Turkish finalists, alongside the winning entrepreneurs from the other local programs, will attend the BBVA Momentum 2019 global closing event to be held on March 2 and 3, 2020 in Madrid's Impact Hub. All participants who travel to the Spanish capital will have the unique opportunity to present their growth plans and network in the premier social entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Colombia and Mexico

37 businesses participated in BBVA Momentum 2019 Pitch Day in Mexico. The event, organized by BBVA in collaboration with HeadSpring, EGADE Business School, Tecnológico de Monterrey, and the incubator and accelerator, New Ventures, took place at BBVA's headquarters in Mexico City.

Selected entrepreneurs presented their growth plans to important players in the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, key individuals at BBVA, the Momentum program team, and potential investors.

37 businesses participated in BBVA Momentum 2019 Pitch Day in Mexico.

BBVA Momentum 2019 in Colombia supported 40 entrepreneurs with 21 weeks of training. According to Óscar Cabrera, BBVA country manager in Colombia, the program is key to nurturing the initiative of future businesspeople. Addressing the participants he said, "In you, we recognize a group of social entrepreneurs representing different businesses — dedicated primarily to the environment, renewable energy, social inclusion, and education — businesses that create employment in your communities, act as a source of regional development, and most of all, help people."