Towards a better world! Cemex and the Tec award prizes to 33 projects

What do a project that seeks to save a type of Mexican coffee, a cultural center for artisan products in Panama, and an initiative to save the Amazon rain forest have in common?

Aside from their social focus, these are some of the 33 projects from 13 countries recognized by the CEMEX-Tec Award for promoting economic growth and social commitment through the preservation of the world’s natural resources.

This is the tenth time that this annual prize, organized by Tec de Monterrey and CEMEX, has been given, and the third time it has been open to international projects.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the awards were held virtually on October 2.

David Garza, Executive President and Rector; Juan Pablo Murra, Rector of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies; and Inés Sáenz, Vice President of Inclusion, Social Impact and Sustainability, participated on behalf of the Tec.

Ricardo Naya, President of CEMEX Mexico, and Martha Herrera, Global Director of Social Impact at CEMEX, also participated in the event.

Awards were given in 4 categories: Transforming Communities, Social Entrepreneurs, Community Entrepreneurship, and Collaborative Action.

“Some are going to receive funds to continue growing. Despite the pandemic, they have managed to continue their projects, and are working towards a better world for everyone,” said Juan Pablo Murra.

“For our Institution, the CEMEX-Tec Award is one of the programs with which we strengthen the ecosystem of entrepreneurship and social impact around the world. We’re very proud of the growth and international positioning it has had,” he added.

“It makes us very proud that each year the award brings together more people who are filled with passion and enthusiasm to become agents of change,” said Sáenz.

Celebrating a decade of this award, CEMEX’s Ricardo Naya said that we must see this crisis more clearly: not only the problems but also the opportunities.

“This year, we’re celebrating 10 years of social entrepreneurship, which has contributed directly to the wellbeing and development of more sustainable communities and cities,” he added.

The 33 projects include 9 from Mexico and others from places such as Colombia, Spain, Argentina, Kenya, and Poland.

List of CEMEX-Tec Award winners

Eight winners received seed funding to continue their work and all have been rewarded with training given by Make Sense, Ashoka, and Unreasonable México, which promote social impact initiatives and projects within Mexico and around the world.

- Transforming Communities Category

Two first places were given in the 2020 awards, one internationally for Casa Nadily, and the other for Mexico, to Káapeh México. 

Both received 25,000 dollars to continue the development of their projects.

-Social Entrepreneurs Category

15 international projects were recognized, and the best 3 were awarded 10,000 dollars each.

The 3 winners were Saving The Amazon from Colombia; TelaSan Mosquitia from Honduras; and Agro360 from the Dominican Republic.

The other projects recognized were:

• eTrash2Cash (Nigeria)
• Warm Good (Argentina)
• Abrazo Cultural (Spain)
• Leather Heart (Venezuela)
• Mujer Financiera [Women of Finance] (Argentina)
• Care Training (Costa Rica)
• Project Nitrous (Egypt)
• PRO-EDUCA Sinaloa (Mexico)
• Recircular (Spain)
• Sunspectra (Costa Rica)
• Construyendo y Creciendo [Building and Growing] (Mexico)
• Active Café-Sensitive Worlds (Poland)

- Community Entrepreneurship Category

10 projects were recognized, and the first 3 places received 10,000 dollars each. They were:

• Implementation of a comprehensive composting system for the transformation of 100 families’ organic solid waste in the municipality of Piendamó (Colombia)
• Cholila wind energy startup (Argentina)
• “Cránijsúj Dí” Water Producing Forests (Costa Rica).

The other projects recognized were:

• Kleanbera Recycling (Kenya)
• Cultivando inclusión con energías renovables [Cultivating inclusion with renewable energies] (Argentina)
• Expediciones Sierra Norte, Pueblos Mancomunados [Sierra Norte Expeditions, Indigenous Communities] (Oaxaca)
• Lu’um Hikuri ta Iyari (Mexico)
• Community entrepreneurship in Cultural Tourism: inclusive economic growth and the promotion of territorial appropriation in the vulnerable communities of Dibulla (Colombia)
• Süchon Palaa (Colombia)
• ADC Xuchil (Mexico)

- Collaborative Action Category

In this category, 3 winners from Mexico and 3 international winners were given prizes.

• Promotion of the production, research, innovation, and use of amaranth leaf and grain to improve the health and income of rural communities (Mexico)
• +Vida para nuestros niños [More Life for Our Children]: a screening and care program for childhood cancer and other chronic diseases (Mexico)
• Microwd: Fintech for those without bank accounts (Spain)
• Pasos seguros (Colombia)
• Emprendimientos productivos para la paz [Productive startups for peace] (Colombia)
• Creactívate (Mexico)

How the virtual ceremony went

The awards were given through a live broadcast on Facebook, which included recognition of the winners and ended with a live concert by Caloncho.

The event was hosted by Juan del Cerro, founder of Disruptivo TV, a media organization focusing on entrepreneurship, and Socialab Mexico, a strategic network for social startups.

1,678 projects from 61 countries participated in the 4 award categories in the 2020 awards;

• 258 in Transforming Communities
• 870 in Social Entrepreneurs
• 372 in Community Entrepreneurship
• 178 in Collaborative Action.

The participants who applied for the award were 51% women and 49% men. There were participants from the 31 states of the Mexican Republic.

“I invite you to think big and build a better future, by putting ideas into practice that will provide specific solutions,” said Naya.

The awards were given after an evaluation by a panel made up of 120 people from 16 countries, 63 women and 57 men, who represent 70 different organizations around the world.

The Award was given at the end of Experience Weeks, which ran from September 21 to October 2. Participants had the opportunity to exchange experiences with, learn about the work of, and receive advice from, speakers such as Ron Garan, a former NASA astronaut.
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A decade of supporting sustainable development

5,433 projects from 90 countries, and 8,600 people have participated in the CEMEX-Tec Awards during the last ten years.

Inés Sáenz shared that during the early years, the award only recognized the work of Tec students.

Afterwards, participation was opened nationally, then to all of Latin America and, since 2017, it has been international.

“For the third consecutive year, the CEMEX-Tec Award has had a global impact. The number of projects received has reached a set a new record,” she added.

“In 10 years, there have been more than 5,400 projects from more than 90 countries. It’s incredible to think of the effect they have had on communities around the world,” said Juan Pablo Murra.

Martha Herrera is proud of the development and growth of the award during the decade.

“It inspires me to continue growing hand in hand with more than 8,600 other entrepreneurs from 90 countries. Let’s continue building our communities together,” she said.

Mexico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Argentina, and Spain were the countries with the highest number of submissions in these awards.

Workshops, mentoring, master classes, and guided sessions were also held this year for all the participants during the two Experience Weeks.

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