INPRENDE, McDonald’s reward young entrepreneurs in final phase of “Encourage Your Ideas”
McDonald’s Puerto Rico and the INPRENDE platform celebrated the graduations from the “Encourage Your Ideas” program, a collaborative initiative that sought to foster business ideas of young Puerto Ricans.
This program began in October with workshops aimed at college students and high schoolers between the ages of 17 and 23, which were oriented and motivated about the development of business ideas.
As a second phase, they were encouraged to submit business proposals. Ten finalists from more than 20 applications received were chosen. The finalists had the opportunity to participate in workshops with professional mentors who helped deepen and broaden their ideas.
“Encourage Your Ideas” had as its final phase celebrating the achievements of its participants with the presentation of their final 10 proposals to a panel of jurors, including Natalia Boderenko executive director of INPRENDE, Denisse Rodríguez, director of Colmena66; Johanna Lopez, country purchasing manager for Arcos Dorados in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Zahira Douez, communications manager for Arcos Dorados.
The first place was awarded to Gianni Plaza-Pizarro for his creation of an ingenious educational game aimed at teachers and students six years and older. The game will serve as a virtual tool to facilitate learning. Jorge García-Báez took second place for his proposal that sought to create a network linking students with mentors to guide them in their studies.
The third place went to the team of Adriana Pérez and Ariana Rivera, who presented an application that incorporates customer service with sign language. As compensation for their efforts, the youth received monetary donations to help them pursue their ideas presented.
