Organizers

 

FUNDACION ALVARALICE is a nonprofit organization established in 2003 in Cali, Colombia by the Garcés Echavarría siblings to honor their parents Alvaro Garcés Giraldo and Alice Echavarría Olózaga's philanthropic spirit and commitment to Colombia's social development. The Foundation's areas of engagement are: peace-building, peace-making, restorative justice, peaceful resolution of conflicts, civic action and microfinance. Alvaralice was the major convener of the International Symposium on Restorative Justice and Peace in Colombia, for which Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu was the keynote speaker.
http://www.alvaralice.org

 

FUNDACION PAZ Y BIEN is a non-governmental organizationthat provides social and humanitarian aid to the people of the District ofAguablanca, in Cali, Colombia. Founded by the Franciscan Order of the Catholic Church in 1987, the centralmission of Paz y Bien is to help underprivileged and vulnerable social groups such as women, children,youth and their families through programs that promote personal growth, self-esteem, education andtechnical capacity building, as well as income-generating projects and housing developments. In2006 Fundación Paz y Bien created the cooperative "Coomostaza" to carry out amicrocredit program addressed to the poorest of the poor in the Aguablanca District.

http://www.fundacionpazybien.org

 

PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD JAVERIANA CALI is a Catholic University created and directed by the Company of Jesus, with an open mind the pursuit of all scientific and technological thought and development. With a history of over 400 years in Colombia and 37 years in Cali, the Javeriana offers numerous undergraduate and graduate programs, various research and consulting centers as well as a publication and radio station. Its campus, regarded as one of the most admired architectural designs in the region, is located in the suburban area in the south of the city, an surrounded by a rich diversity of flora an fauna, typical of the Andean mountain range of Western Colombia.

www.puj.edu.co

 

UNIVERSIDAD DEL VALLE is al public state-supported university founded in 1945. It has become one of Colombia's three most important universities recognized for its academic excellence in the areas of health, humanities and engineering, in addition to developments in the areas of scientific and applied technological research. For that purpose the University has had a strong and continuous support from several international entities and other universities, through inter-institutional cooperation agreements. Universidad del Valle has been providing technical support to Coomostaza, the multiactive cooperative ran by Fundación Paz y Bien.
http://www.univalle.edu.co

 

COMFANDI is a private non-for profit organization aimed at the promotion of social solidarity amongst employers and workers through the delivery of monetary and in kind subsidies, along with the provision of health, education, and other services to the affiliated worker and his/her family. Its mission being to improve the quality of living of the community in the Cauca Valley region through the provision of integral social services in alliance with different sectors of the society; therefore, guaranteeing the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the organization.
http://www.comfandi.com.co

 

FUNDACION MARIO SANTO DOMINGO was created in 1960 by Mario Santo Domingo as a non-for profit organization whose mission is to promote the wellbeing of the Colombian population, focused on the poorest communities. The Foundation's mission is achieved through the support of activities and programs in the areas of education, culture, income generation, health, and scientific and technological research.
http://www.fundacionmariosantodomingo.org.co

 

FINAMERICA is a financing commercial company specialized in microfinance, created by the four largest cajas de compensación familiar (Colsubsidio, Cafam, Comfandi, Comfenalco) and Acción Internacional. Finámerica accomplishes its mission through the delivery of highly specialized credit and microfinance services to micro-entrepreneurs and their families. The organization provides excellent services and technology, operating within reasonable margins of growth, sustainability and profitability.
http://www.finamerica.com.co

 

FINANCIERA COMPARTIR S.A. is a commercial financing companyfounded in 1994 by prestigious nonprofit organizations (Fundación Compartir,Fideicomiso A.I. Banco Superior, Corporación Andina de Fomento -CAF-, Fundación Carvajal,Fundación Corona, Fundación Michelsen Lombana, Fundaempresa Cali, Corporación el Minuto de Dios, Fondode Empleados Conahorro and Asociación Nacional de Fundaciones). Financiera Compartir'smain objective is to promote the development of micro-enterprises by offering credits to the entrepreneurs.Through the application of modern methodologies and the latest technological advances in the area ofmicrocredit, Financiera has supported micro-enterprises; therefore, contributing to Colombia’s social andeconomic development. Financiera is recognized as a solid and highly specialized microlendingcompany.

www.financieracompartir.com

 

GIVE TO COLOMBIA is a US-based non-profit organization that supports foundations, corporations, persons and Colombian American Organizations in channeling grants and donations to non profit projects in Colombia and in Latin America.

www.givetocolombia.org

 

PUBLICACIONES SEMANA Is one of the leading editorial groups in the Colombian magazine business. Publicaciones SEMANA y Dinero develops its Corporate Social Responsibility in various divisions, strategically related with its core business—to make the best journalism analysis. 

www.semana.com

Advisory Board

Lina Moreno de Uribe – First Lady of Colombia
Leslie Barcus – President, Microfinance Managment Institute
Michael Chu - Senior Lecturer, Harvard Business School
Bernardo Kliksberg - Special Advisor, United Nations Development Programme
Marge Magner – President, Brysam Global Partners
José Antonio Ocampo - Professor, Columbia University
Maria Otero - President, ACCION International
Lynne Patterson - Co-Founder and Director, Pro Mujer
Arnaud Ventura – Executive Vice President, PlaNet Finance
Oscar Ivan Zuluaga – Minister of Finance, Colombia

Academic Board

Bernardo Barona – Professor, Universidad del Valle
María Paula Carvajal – Microfinance Consultant
Santiago Espinal – Representative and Fieldwork Coordinator, PlaNet Finance
Bárbara Garza - Project Consultant
Arelis Gómez – USAID / MIDAS, Colombia
Ricardo Gómez – Regional Manager, Banco Agrario Colombia
Claudio Higuera – General Manager, Cooperativa Emprender
Beatriz Marulanda – Microfinance Consultant
Ivan Rebolledo - Managing Partner, TerraNova Strategic Partners
Oscar Rojas – Executive Director, Fundación AlvarAlice
Moises Sandoval – Professor, Universidad del Valle
Nancy Truitt – Senior Advisor, Tinker Foundation
Jaime Villaraga - Director, Ford Foundation Colombia

Executive Board

Hermana Alba Stella Barreto – Director, Fundación Paz y Bien
María Eugenia Garcés – Chair of the Board, Fundación AlvarAlice
Armando Garrido – President, COMFANDI
Gregorio Mejía – Manager, Finamérica
Pablo G. Obregón – Director, Fundación Mario Santo Domingo
Enrique Ordoñez – Manager, Financiera Compartir
Oscar Rojas – Executive Director, Fundación AlvarAlice
Lina Zuluaga- Director, Foros Revista Semana

Planning Committee

Andrea Buenaventura - Event Planner, ABB Producciones

Adriana Calle - Fundación AlvarAlice

Diana Eder – Board Member, Fundación AlvarAlice

María Eugenia Garcés – Chair of the Board, Fundación AlvarAlice

Chiara de Garcés – Board Member, Fundación AlvarAlice 

Aida Lilian Garcés - Administrative Coordinator, Fundación AlvarAlice

Barbara Garza - Project Consultant
Carolina Gómez - Programs Director, Fundación AlvarAlice
Catalina Montoya - Assistant Director, Fundación AlvarAlice
Abel A. Piedrahita - Programs Coordinator, Fundación AlvarAlice