MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fundacion Kodea of Chile Wins $100k JK Visionaries Award from IDB for Training Women, Youth in Technology Skills

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), whose membership comprises 48 nations, recently announced that Fundacion Kodea of Chile is the first-place winner of the 2019-2020 JK Visionaries Award. The award is for organizations that are successful in “fostering inclusion, promoting equality [and] increasing citizen engagement.” IDB has run the contest, which includes a top prize of USD 100,000, every other year since 2009. Information on the other organizations placing in this year’s and previous years’ contests may be found at https: www.iadb.org/en/premio-juscelino-kubitschek/previous-winners.

Kodea was recognized for enabling “more inclusive technological development by helping to develop computer skills in groups that lack them.” Among the projects Kodea has either organized or initiated are: (1) a National Digital Talent Award for children in fourth, fifth and sixth grades who create technology-influenced solutions; (2) the Women Programmers skills-training and coaching project. As of 2019, Kodea had 10 employees and annual revenue of USD 271,000.

Founded in the US city of Washington in 1959, IDB issues grants, loans and technical support intended to promote economic development, including via improved health, education and infrastructure, in its member countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The institution has a total of 48 member countries, of which 26 are located in the region. During 2019, IDB issued USD 13 billion in loans and guarantees.

IDB is a member of the IDB Group, whose other two members are IDB Invest, the trade name of the Inter-American Investment Corporation, and IDB Lab, the trade name of the Multilateral Investment Fund. IDB Invest promotes social and economic development by providing finance and training to state-owned and private enterprises. IDB Lab is an “innovation lab” that tests models for facilitating “inclusive growth.”

By Nathan Kiplagat, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

JK Visionaries Award homepage
https://www.iadb.org/en/premio-juscelino-kubitschek/jk-visionaries

Kodea homepage
http://www.kodea.org

Dun & Bradstreet profile on Kodea
https://www.dnb.com/business-directory/company-profiles.fundacion_para_la_inclusion_tecnologica_kodea.64c5eb29e067f9c9ba217596e728b6a3.html

IDB homepage
https://www.iadb.org

IDB 2019 financials
https://www.iadb.org

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