San Francisco del Rincon, Guanajuato México and Birmingham, Alabama – October 16 2019 –Kirchner Impact Foundation, one of the ‘returning arms’ of traditional merchant bank Kirchner Group, is pleased to announce a collaboration with Centro Fox, to offer a new ‘boot camp’ model of its Kirchner Investment Academy in central Mexico.

The Kirchner Investment Academy is an intensive, 25-hour program for groups and individuals seeking to gain knowledge about the relevance and process of venture capital allocation in developing entrepreneurial ecosystems. This Academy will follow an intensive incubator-type model, where entrepreneurs from the region will learn about investment from the perspective of investors. The training will take place December 6–8 at Centro Fox, an innovation and leadership campus founded by former president of Mexico Vicente Fox and his wife, Marta Sahagun. “At Centro Fox we wake up vocations and promote leadership, and this program will help us in this mission,” mentioned Vicente Fox.

The program has been developed and implemented by the Kirchner Impact Foundation and the investment professionals of Kirchner Group. The program will be guided by professionals with regional experience promoting Kirchner´s iconic vision of creating value while promoting values. Attendees will learn investment vocabulary, the basics of how to evaluate possible investments as well as develop criteria to attract and structure investments for projects and startups. The program also introduces the importance of capital efficiency and sustainability within a socially aware context.

“This program was designed to bring much needed expertise to rural and underserved regions,” added Blair G. Kirchner, co-head of impact activities at Kirchner Group. “We are excited to further enhance and expand our impact activities locally and internationally.”

The academy was originally formed as part of the larger collaboration between the Kirchner Impact Foundation and the State Government of Guanajuato and the City Government of Leon, which launched the Central Mexico cohort of the Kirchner Food Fellowship. In addition, Kirchner hosted the “2019 Mexico AgTech Competition,” and the inaugural Kirchner Investment Academy earlier this year.

“The interest in the inaugural Kirchner Investment Academy was so high that we had to open additional spaces to accommodate more students,” mentioned Adrian Garcia, Ph.D., acting Kirchner Group Country Leader, Kirchner Investment Academy Instructor and Fellowship Director. “The Academy model is very flexible and accommodates participants from any background.”

Discussions are underway with various organizations about additional academies, including a potential program in South Africa early next year. In addition presentations based on the academy content have been conducted in Monterrey Mexico as part of a bio-entrepreneurship conference and in Trinidad & Tobago as part of a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation sponsored Agripreneur Mastermind Programme for local entrepreneurs. In addition, early discussions are underway to conduct the program in other international regions over the coming months.

Adriana Ruiz, Leon Municipality Entrepreneurship Director added, “The comprehensive knowledge that Kirchner brings with this course elevate the profile of the whole regional entrepreneurship ecosystem.”

For more information on the Kirchner Investment Academy, contact Adrian Garcia: agarcia@fundthefood.com