The second edition of PERUMIN Inspires, the first recognition given by the mining industry to high social impact ventures, presents six finalist projects that will compete for the award for best innovative idea. The projects will be presented by their respective leaders on September 23, during the central event of Heading to PERUMIN - Bicentennial Edition “Competitive and sustainable proposals for the development of Peru”. 

With 123 applications from 17 regions of Peru, the PERUMIN Inspires evaluation committee chose its finalists, who presented a working prototype of their innovative idea. According to the contest rules, entrepreneurial projects must be self-sustainable and respond to at least one of the four Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) considered: SDG No. 2, zero hunger; SDG No. 3, health and well-being; SDG No. 6, clean water and sanitation; and SDG No. 8, decent work and economic growth. 

"After more than 6 months of work, the final stage of this contest has arrived, which seeks to publicize the innovative ideas of these entrepreneurs so that they contribute to our sierra. As part of the previous preparation, from August 30 to September 10, the 6 finalists will participate in a bootcamp run by various organizations such as Kunan, Kaman, Protagonistas del Cambio - UPC, PUCP, NESsT and Pixed, and in which they will take workshops on team building, social business model, learn startup, theory of change, media training, pitch and storytelling. This will help them develop their skills for the presentations that will take place in the central event of Heading to PERUMIN Bicentennial Edition" said Jimena Sologuren, president of PERUMIN Inspires. 

Getting to know the finalists

Of the total number of applications, 57% had an impact in areas over 3,000 meters above sea level, 52% contributed to SDG 8: decent work and economic growth. Likewise, 86% of the applicants considered that their undertakings could be replicated in another context, which was a guarantee that the work would last over time.

Finally, 6 finalists were chosen from 5 different regions of the country, as detailed below:

• Amautas: Initiative that will seek to have an impact on the Vinchos Village, in the Pasco region. Its objective is to design, manufacture and donate low-cost computers with eco-friendly materials to schools and students of the village in question. It aims to to bridge the digital divide for schoolchildren in the Pallanchacra district and then expand to other districts and regions.
• Gomishuro: With the aim of benefiting 7749 children between the ages of 3 and 12 at risk of anemia in the province of Huanta, in the Ayacucho region, Gomishuro seeks to consolidate itself as a delicious food supplement in the form of fruit-flavored gummies that prevent anemia. It is made from cushuro, a microorganism with high concentrations of iron, calcium, potassium, sodium, as well as vitamins that are beneficial for people's health.
• Medidor Ambiental Kon (Kon Environmental Meter): Initiative that seeks to have its first impact in the villages of Paragsha and Vinchos, in the Pasco region. It is a didactic technological environmental meter based on hardware and software, which allows real-time monitoring of UV radiation, air pollution, noise levels in the environment and radioactivity, for the protection of public health and environmental quality.
• Andean Chips: A proposal that seeks to improve the income received by small farmers in potato production areas in the highlands, mainly in the provinces of Huatata, Chinchero and Urubamba in the Cusco region, through the marketing of a healthy snack based on dehydrated olluco.
• Conservation, production and marketing of native aquaculture species: From the province of Candarave, Tacna region, this family project is based on the production and marketing of endangered native trout species with high nutritional value. The project seeks to benefit more than 80 small fish farming families by providing employment opportunities and contributing to the fight against malnutrition.
• Conservation of native forests and marketing of morchella mushrooms: In order to benefit 186 community members at risk of malnutrition and economic vulnerability of the communities of Huillque and Oscollopata in the Cusco region, this initiative seeks to train residents in the conservation of native forests and in the marketing of morchella or morel mushrooms. This edible mushroom species has a high vitamin content and the proposal is to market it in a sustainable manner. 

The winner of PERUMIN Inspires will receive a seed capital valued at S/ 15,000, 15 hours of legal support from ONTIER and 4 months of digital technical support from KAMAN, business incubator of the Universad Católica San Pablo in Arequipa.

It should be noted that PERUMIN Inspira is the result of an alliance between Kunan, a platform for the development of social enterprises, and the Peruvian Institute of Mining Engineers (IIMP), the official organizer of the PERUMIN Mining Convention. 

About the organizations:

Peruvian Institute of Mining Engineers - IIMP

Leading institution in the Peruvian mining sector, which bases its success and prestige on the technical contribution delivered over seven decades of work. It seeks to contribute to the professional growth of its associates, through the dissemination of high-level academic knowledge, technological innovation and the promotion of responsible practices to meet the great challenges of the mining industry in an environment of constant change.

KUNAN

Kunan is the platform for promoting the social and environmental entrepreneurship ecosystem in the country, created in 2014 by the Global Shapers Lima Hub of the World Economic Forum together with the Juntos Para Transformar (Together to Transform) alliance of Gastón Acurio and Telefónica. Today Kunan is operated by Perú Sostenible (Formerly Perú 2021), local representative of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development in Peru.