Two projects from Argentina and Mexico are among the major winners in the 2019
This year the Award recognised 33 sustainable development projects from entrepreneurs and innovators who aim to generate high impact in their communities around the world.
The Mexican and Argentine entries were the two first-place projects in the Transforming Communities category, and both were awarded US$25,000 for implementation.
The CEMEX-Tec Award was launched globally in 2018. In addition to the existing Transforming Communities and Social Entrepreneurs categories, two new categories were added this year: Community Entrepreneurship and Collaborative Action.
In the Social Entrepreneurs category, 15 projects received training and the three first-place projects were awarded US$10,000 in seed capital. In the Community Entrepreneurship category, the Award recognised the 10 best projects, of which three were awarded US$10,000 in seed capital. Finally, in the Collaborative Action category, three Mexican and three international teams were selected, all of which received training and award recognition.
This year's award received almost 1,500 entries from 67 countries, doubling the number of projects registered compared with last year.
All of the finalists were announced in the 2019 CEMEX-Tec Award e-book, while the winners travelled to the city of Monterrey, Mexico, to participate in Experience Week. Here they received specialised training and participated in outdoor activities to learn more about the local ecosystem, a pitch night, and mentoring and networking sessions with partners, including Ashoka, MassChallenge, MakeSense, Unreasonable Mexico, Impact HUB, Cirklo, Unboxed, Disruptivo TV, and Sirolli Institute.
One hundred and one universities from 67 countries participated in this year's competition, with Colombia and the Dominican Republic contributing the highest number of projects. For the first time ever, the Award received projects from countries such as Afghanistan, Armenia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, Congo, Croatia, Cuba, Ethiopia, France, Ghana, Greece, Equatorial Guinea, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Lebanon, Liberia, Mali, Morocco, and Mozambique.
“We are extremely proud that, since its creation in 2011, the CEMEX-Tec Award continues to reaffirm its global commitment to building a better future by promoting high-impact sustainable development proposals and projects from innovators and social entrepreneurs that have helped us to positively impact more than 22,500 people,” said Martha Herrera, corporate social responsibility director at CEMEX and director of the CEMEX-Tec Center for Sustainable Community Development.
CEMEX says that the 2020 edition of the Award will continue to support projects through strategic partnerships that foster economic growth, communities’ social involvement, and natural resource preservation.
