Have you figured out which are the challenges that face youth from developing countries to become a social entrepreneur of impact and not to fall into the false surviving entrepreneurship model?.
Hi, I'm Nestor Bonilla, tech for social good engineer and young change-maker from Nicaragua, and I want to talk to you about my journey on how I became an entrepreneur in the migration era in Latin America.
I grew up in Managua, the capital, a place marked by an earthquake that happened in the decade of the 70s, and that was never exceeded. When I was 10, I decided I wanted to be a famous pianist, a dream that is unattainable for a child who knows the reality of his country.
With the years, I gradually realized that it was not easy in a country like mine, cause, how can you dream of being famous in music if what most people seek is how to bring food to the table?
I was 19 years old when I received a piano class for the last time, and in case you had the doubt, no, I'm not here because I'm the most famous pianist in Nicaragua :) for that time I was already in the second year of my career, System Engineering, I wanted to develop software in the banking sector, and yes, you're also right, I have not come to present the best banking system of the year.
Being born and grew up in a despair environment, with few aspirations and not being part of a family with economic resources or privileges makes you ignorant of the whole universe of amazing possibilities that are out there.
So, how did I break that traditional cycle?
Having an enabling environment allowed me to address all my efforts to my studies, and this, with a mixture of luck, it means being in the right place at the right time, allowed me to reach the first opportunities of international student exchange. And with each new experience, I removed one more blindfold from my eyes, converting the "I can't" with the "could be" or "why not?" To discover the way that the world has many opportunities for you, you have to think outside the box and dare to take the risk.
Once I discovered how I could break that cycle, I couldn't stop. Since 2012 I've been an active volunteer and fellow for many local and international organizations like the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IEEE, Internet Society ISOC, FHI360, and others. All these experiences allowed me to increase my soft and hard skills by executing projects, having leadership skills and learn in several areas of knowledge like the fellowship I had with FHI360, a time where I learned from labor market assessment and how it can be used to boost entrepreneurship and innovation, and not only that, also a companion for effective networking with decision-makers to exceed our initiatives.
All these knowledge, opportunities, and lessons learned have been a milestone in the run of our two startups, Honey Things and Digital Bonds.
So far, everything is fine, right?. I struggled to get there, and I have two founded one disruptive startup with scalable potential. What could happen?
Well, it happened what all Nicaraguans knew would happen but that we were never ready to face. A repressive government broke out against the youth, the youth worried about democracy, and I was in that group, so what could I do?
I had two options:
Being trapped into a regime with a lack of opportunities where suddenly I could be kidnapped, imprisoned, or killed by the paramilitary forces.
Or leave the country and fight from the outside, I chose the second.
And as if all my years of hard work did not mean anything, I had to leave everything behind, my projects, my home, and the life that I was creating there. It was then that I decided after trying in other places to move to Panama, the most neutral country from Central America, politically and economically speaking.
Currently, Digital Bonds runs in Panama; this is a social enterprise working in the design, development, and implementation of technology for social good primarily for non-profit organizations based on the Sustainable Development Goals. The challenge is not easy, but it's my team and my passion for analyzing societal issues and trying from our knowledge and skills proposing technology solutions with a holistic and practical understanding of the problems case by case.
I believe in Nicaragua, that's why I keep fighting from wherever I am for my country, making known the realities of my country and executing projects that contribute to its development. I came to this world to leave a positive impact on my environment. I have no doubt that I am achieving it, and I will not stop until I see it fully materialized.