Activist and humanitarian Shukla Bose once said, “All parents all over the world want their children to lead a better life than themselves, but they need to believe that change is possible.”
As individuals and as a society, we all want to believe that changing the world for the better is possible, but few ever seem to know exactly what it takes. But as another wise person once said, “think globally, act locally.”
Consider the San Antonio Mx Challenge and Operation Blue Sky, two incentive-based challenges that are working to affect change in their respective spheres. Whereas the former is dedicated to ensuring the creation of startups in San Antonio that are owned and operated by members of the Mexican community, the latter is looking to improve the delivery of medical services to Canada’s First Nations population.
In this respect, these challenges and those sponsoring them are looking to change the world, starting with their corner of it.
Sponsored by Geekdom – a collaborative coworking space in San Antonio, TX dedicated to bringing people and businesses together – the Mx Challenge was inspired by the unique position the city occupies. As a major national and regional hub for entrepreneurs, technologists and innovators, it is also an economic and cultural nexus between the United States and Mexico.
In addition to being the second largest economy in Latin America, Mexico is also one of the United States’ biggest import/export partners. On top of that, it is estimated that by 2050, the nation will be one of the top ten economies in the world. Given its proximity and cultural connection to Latin America, San Antonio is ideally suited to take advantage of this growth. Last, but not least, the Mexican-American community is growing in San Antonio and occupying an increasingly important role in the city’s economy.
With all these factors in mind, the goal of the SAMxC is to make the city of San Antonio famous for its partnership with Mexico by encouraging Mexican entrepreneurs to start their US expansion strategy there. At the same time, it aims to make US entrepreneurs think of San Antonio first when planning their growth strategies into Mexico, Central, and South America.
Jesus Salas, the Mx Challenge Program Director at Geekdom, explained the company’s decision to mount an incentive-based competition in a recent Q&A: “San Antonio is a city that has one of the strongest connections in the United States with Mexico. Most of the connection that San Antonio has with Mexico is around the tourism area. It is a very generous relationship, but we are looking on the long term.
Leave a Reply