How we're boosting impactful businesses in Tandil in 2024
- Jessica Oyarbide
- Dec 29, 2024
- 3 min read
This year, the Companies with Impact section was launched in collaboration with Multimedios El Eco and Jessica Oyarbide, founder of Marcas que Marcan and EKHOS, with the aim of showcasing a different way of doing business. A recap of what happened during the year.
Impact Enterprises seek to demonstrate that businesses can be conducted that, in addition to seeking profitability, generate a positive impact on the planet and people. This year, content was created to discuss Social Enterprises, a business model born with a focus on solving or mitigating social or environmental problems. It is highly developed in certain countries such as England, Scotland, India, Kenya, but also in Mexico, Brazil, and Chile. In Argentina, these types of companies also exist, prioritizing social or environmental impact over profits. We learned about cases such as En Buenas Manos, 3C Construcciones, Ruca, and ProCuyo.
During the year, we also learned about international movements, networks, and certifications such as People and Planet First, WFTO (World Fair Trade Organization), and Fairtrade International, which bring together these types of businesses that promote positive impact and Fair Trade. Tandil even participated in People and Planet First Week, held from November 18th to 22nd, where events were held around the world to promote actions and businesses that prioritize the planet and people. The T+ACTIVA event was responsible for putting the city on the global map and also participating in the International Day of Social Enterprises, held on November 21st each year. On this occasion, we discussed with colleagues from Latin America how these types of businesses are being promoted in our country and continent.
Over the past few months, it has become clear that these types of businesses do not emerge randomly, but are part of an ecosystem, the Impact Ecosystem. It brings together companies, governments, academic institutions, business incubators and accelerators, impact investors, NGOs, multilateral organizations, media outlets, and consultants, among other sectors. This ecosystem seeks to identify barriers and opportunities to work collaboratively and enhance businesses that generate positive impact.
The purpose of EKHOS is to promote the development of Impact Ecosystems, and to this end, it encourages the creation of Impact Roundtables. These groups already exist in Tandil, Río Cuarto, and Villa Mercedes, and are being formed in Buenos Aires and Córdoba. In Tandil, the Impact Roundtable is an interdisciplinary space that seeks to strengthen and empower companies and ventures that generate a positive impact on people and the planet. It shares ideas, projects, lessons learned, problems, and opportunities to energize the local Impact Ecosystem. It has been operating for a year and a half, with two workshops held within the framework of Flama (2023 and 2024), internal training sessions, and various activities that showcase a different way of doing business in our city.
EKHOS also seeks to connect people and organizations working to promote Impact Ecosystems, and for that reason, it takes India as its benchmark, a country with one of the most rapidly developing economies, a rising middle class, and strategies that lift millions of people out of poverty each year. India has more than 2 million Social Enterprises, an immense Impact Ecosystem, and countless examples of how to create businesses that solve the social and environmental challenges of emerging economies. EKHOS has been connecting India with Latin America for seven years, offering immersion trips to this ecosystem, and this year we explored several reasons why we should build a bridge between the two regions.
Next year, the next India Impact Route will take place , an immersive trip to India's Impact Ecosystem, where there will undoubtedly be more inspiration and cases that will allow the people of Tandil to be inspired by how to do business that puts people and the planet first. During the trip, the GIBEF - Global Impact Businesses and Ecosystem Forum - will take place, a global forum created by the same organization, which will connect India, Latin America, and the United Kingdom, the latter region being also a global reference in the creation of Impact Ecosystems, and with vast experience in supporting international companies to do business in their countries.
We hope this new section has brought you new insights, ideas, and inspiration. We'd love to hear your thoughts and what you'd like us to share next year. Contact us at jessica@ekhos.org or https://www.instagram.com/jessioyarbide/
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