Diving into the Peruvian World of Entrepreneurship

Talk about diving deeper in the Peruvian world of entrepreneurship, the day started with my accepting an invitation by the Dean of San Ignacio de Loyola University to join him in a case presentation by MBA student entrepreneurs. I showed up extra early (which is rare for them) but my normal 45 minute ride only took 20 minutes due to the lack of traffic on Saturday. Who knew? It gave me the opportunity to spend quality time with two unexpected sources of information.

1) One of the Directors shared the university's strategic plan to start a World Trade Center of Peru with sponsors. The plans are impressive with the goal of rallying Peruvian businesses to maximize the new trade agreements with the USA, China as well as the APEC.

2) The Dean arranged for an informal conversation with an entrepreneurship student (translated by the Dean). This student's lap top computer business has been in operation for 4 years despite his original move to Lima from a poor rural area with only 200 soles (Peruvian dollars or about 65 US dollars to his name). Now he has 10 people working for him, 30% are family members. He shared his motivations, what keeps him moving and his commitment to social responsibility...which is a recurring theme here. However, one of the most intriguing stories from this student involved his overcoming a personal challenge influencing his business decision. His Mother had been pronounced with cancer and only 3 months to live. Familiar with the Peruvian rural jungle plants and traditional ways of medicine and ceremony, this student had prepared a beverage that when taken by the Mother extended her life by 10years. I was fascinated by this story and quickly considered him a resource! The student chose to enter into the lap top business versus going into alternative medicine to preserve the reverence of the process and the culture. This exploratory conversation has given me food for thought in my entrepeneurial/OB research direction.

With over 50 students and about 6 faculty and administration members present, the spanish-only lectures covered the topics of the economic conditions of Peru, the importance of entrepreneurship. I was pleased to be able to basically keep up with the presentation even though I still am an amateur at speaking the language in a business setting. These presentations were the precursor to the actual student team presentations. Unfortunately, I was not able to remain for the entire program. A video tape of the presentations will be sent to me. However, I had another engagement to get to. I had been invited by the President of the Women Entrepreneur Association for an early lunch (my second meeting with her but it is like we are old friends). Prior to my departure and much to my surprise, the Dean invited me to the front of the room and introduced me to all the students. He presented me with a gift and asked me to make a speech. I rallied to the occassion with inspiring comments about their tremendous future in entrepreneurship. I look forward to a continued relationship with USIL. A great morning!

AMCHAM picked me up and we went to central Lima to join Renee, the President and Erika, a member of the coordinating team of the organization and consultant to women businesses. I had a chance to see a retail mall for about 20 minutes prior to heading to town. It was equivalent to the quality and offerings of a USA site. At lunch, I shared my research thoughts, some women oriented entrepreneurship research, and resources that I had discovered while conducting various meetings in Peru. AMCHAM shared their work and identified opportunities for collaboration. I am pleased to say that AMCHAM actually met this resource as a result of helping me to set up meetings during my trip in March. The networking has turned into a win-win-win situation.

After another Latin tradition of a 4 hour lunch filled with a phenomenal exchange of minds, hearts, missions & food, I left the table with a commitment from the organization to provide the solution to my "how do I conduct research in Peru?" question. They will mobilize and work with me when the time is right to ensure that my questionnaire is appropriate and customized to the country; will coordinate focus groups across rural and urban geography; will work with their network to secure completion of the questionnaires. We will negotiate for my contribution for this service once I have a better idea of the product and secured IUB necessary approvals. However, I feel that this is an outstanding accomplishment and long term relationship. They have now adopted me as they refer to me as "their PhD researcher amiga" and I believe that they are as excited about my future as I am.

I finally return to the hotel, exhausted but enthusiastic. I have been invited to a local resident's home for dinner with about 10 Peruvians. I am excited about the experience. Tomorrow I leave for a more rural experience in Cusco. And, I must prepare for the change to a 15,000 altitude. As this is winter time in Peru, it has meant cooler in Lima (wearing a light coat and staying foggy) but warmer in Cusco. As I said flexibility is mandatory here. My living arrangements may be different than planned and my list of people to meet has grown. So, we will take it one day at a time!