Six Latin American social entrepreneurs form part of the Social Business Development Group (SBDG), recently convened by Ashoka to make basic and critical technologies accessible in low-income communities in Latin America, Africa and Asia. They include Sergio Oceransky, who is empowering communities to manage wind power provision in Oaxaca, Mexico; Albina Ruiz, who has introduced a community-based nationwide waste management system in Peru; and Reinaldo Pamponet, who is pioneering a social network of knowledge creators in Brazil, South Africa and the Netherlands.

As a first step, the Latin Americans took part in a social business meeting hosted by Ashoka and Siemens Stiftung in Munich in October, which explored collaborations among participants and allowed the social entrepreneurs to meet experts and social investors. One of the main outcomes was identification of the need to be creative when devising deals with potential investors.