Babson College Latin Entrepreneurship Forum - "Latin America: Entrepreneurs Wanted"

WELLESLEY, Mass., March 25, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The 3rd Babson Latin Entrepreneurship Forum, the largest event among U.S. universities dedicated to entrepreneurial activities in Latin America, will take place Friday, April 1, 2011, at Babson College.

Topics include:

• Social Entrepreneurship,
• Banking in Latin America,
• Serial Entrepreneurs,
• Corporate Entrepreneurship,
• New Business Trends in Latin America,
• Tourism in Latin America,
• Family Business Entrepreneurs, and
• Retail in Latin America.

Keynote speaker

• Her Royal Highness Princess Cristina of Spain - Director of International Programs, "la Caixa" Foundation
• Bruno Ferrari - Economy Secretary, Mexican Federal Government
• LuAnn Via - CEO, Payless ShoeSource
• Jose Luis Corripio - President, Grupo Corripio
• German Efromovich, Owner of Synergy Group, with holdings in 8 airlines in 4 countries, including Avianca (Colombia) and VarigLog (Brazil)

Panelists include business leaders from banking, tourism, retail, mining, aviation, consumer products, services and non-profit industries, such as:

• Jaime Gilinski, Chairman of JGB Financial Holding Co., one of the largest bankers in Colombia; and philanthropist.
• Mario Laborin, President of ABC Capital, a Mexican expert in the fields of finance and banking.
• Carlos Danel, Co-Founder of Banco Compartamos, the largest microfinance bank in Latin America.
• Alberto Perlman, Founder of Zumba Fitness, who revolutionized the business of fitness with the rhythm of Latin music.
• Roque Benavides, CEO of Minas Buenaventura, owner of the largest mining operation in Peru.
• Alfonso Hernandez, Co-Founder of The Argus Group.
• Carlos Rojas, Chairman and CEO of Rotoplas, a serial entrepreneur and philanthropist whose company is one of the largest rotomolding businesses in the world and a leading company for water solutions in Latin America.

A Business Pitch Competition will award the top two business ideas with:

• a $40,000 grant each, plus
• support for making their business ideas reality through Start-Up Chile, a program of the Chilean Government that seeks to attract foreign, high-potential entrepreneurs to go to Chile to bootstrap their businesses with the end goal of converting the country into the innovation and entrepreneurial hub of Latin America.

At Babson, Entrepreneurship is more than just a field of study: it's a way of thinking and living; it's a tradition. In an effort to further enhance and enrich this tradition, the Latin America Business Club set out to develop a Forum that will generate insightful debates about the identification, structuring, and growth process of business opportunities in Latin America.

To register, visit http://www.babsonlatinamerica.com/forum2011/

For a complete list of speakers and more information about the forum, please visit: www.babsonlatinamerica.com.

Follow on Twitter http://twitter.com/babsonlatin

Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., is recognized internationally as a leader in entrepreneurial management education. Babson grants BS degrees through its innovative undergraduate program, and grants MBA and custom MS and MBA degrees through the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College. Babson Executive Education offers executive development programs to experienced managers worldwide. For information, visit www.babson.edu.

Provided by Newswise, online resource for knowledge-based news at www.newswise.com

SOURCE Babson College