UpNext: Inside the Latin American and Caribbean Creative Industries

Makhtar Diop is IFC’s Managing Director. He assumed this position on March 1st, 2021. Prior to this appointment, he was the World Bank’s Vice President for Infrastructure, where he led the Bank’s global efforts to build sustainable infrastructure in developing and emerging economies. In this role, he oversaw the Bank’s critical work in energy, transport, digital infrastructure, and public-private partnerships.

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Carlos Vives is a multiple Grammy- and Latin Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and actor from Colombia. He is globally renowned for his command of traditional styles such as vallenato, porro, cumbia, and champeta, as well as pop, rock, and reggaeton. He has sold tens of millions of recordings and his videos regularly garner billions of views. He has been releasing singles and albums since 1986, starting with Por Fuera y por Dentro (recorded while he was still a successful actor in telenovelas and films). Vives has won numerous Latin Grammys and been nominated more than 30 times; he has also won several Premios Nuestra Tierra industry prizes. He recently sung the title track to the Oscars-winning animated movie Encanto.

Vives is one of the founders of Tras la Perla, an initiative dedicated to the sustainable development of the city of Santa Marta, Colombia and the surrounding region. Since 2015, Tras la Perla has led several environmental planning exercises to identify needs and then connect future beneficiaries with the necessary resources. Tras la Perla currently manages programs in three areas: urban infrastructure development, strengthening community and leadership skills and environmental sustainability.

Pía León was voted Latin America’s Best Female Chef in 2019, and World’s Best Female Chef in 2021. León oversees Central with Virgilio Martínez and has been instrumental in its successes, continuously ushering the restaurant to new heights; thrice named Latin America’s Best Restaurant; and number 4 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Topping Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants list for three years in a row and voted one of the world’s top ten restaurants for five years running, Pía León helmed the kitchen and co-owned Central with her husband Virgilio Martínez for a decade before she decided to branch out on her own with Kjolle. The restaurant takes its name from an indigenous, flowering tree that grows at extreme altitudes, it burst onto Latin America’s 50 Best list at No.21 in 2019, winning the Highest New Entry Award.

Kevin Lyttle altered the course of traditional Soca music and took the world by storm with his hit single “Turn Me On,” which topped global charts - the U. K., Germany, Italy France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Austria, Australia, and on to the United States. After earning spots on MTV, Billboard’s Hot 100 and signing a deal with Atlantic Records, his single and album both went multi-platinum, selling over 5,000,000 and 2,000,000 copies respectively. In 2017, Billboard named “Turn Me on” the number 1 dancehall chorus of the 21st century. Four albums later, Lyttle joined a major label when his label, Tarakon Records, partnered with the Sony/Ultra family to release his hit single “Slow Motion” in 2017. The same year, Kevin Lyttle returned to the Billboard charts with another number one, the Reggaetón smash “Midnight” made it to No 1 on the Tropical Billboard Charts. This year Lyttle will release his fifth album, a carnival masterpiece called “Kill Me Wid It” featuring hit single “Close to You”.

Andréa is a founding partner of GIG Flows, a management consultancy for creative companies and professionals in the entertainment and events sector. In addition to having a master's degree in Creative Economy Management and a postgraduate degree in Entertainment Management from Full Sail University, Andréa has worked in several companies in the creative sectors. She had the privilege of contributing to the promotion of the entertainment industry in Rio de Janeiro in several positions, both in public and private companies, having her last position as Executive Manager of APRESENTA® (Association of Event Producers of Rio de Janeiro). Today Andréa is a pre-candidate for Federal Deputy with an agenda aimed at promoting the entertainment, culture and tourism industries in Brazil.

Daniel Krauze is an award-winning novelist and screenwriter. Born in Mexico City in 1982, Krauze is a graduate of the Universidad Iberoamericana, with a B.A. in Communications. He also has an M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from New York University, with a focus on screenwriting. Since 2016, Krauze has worked exclusively writing for television. He wrote nine episodes and was an executive producer on Luis Miguel: The Series, which became one of Netflix LatAm´s most successful shows in 2018. That same year, Krauze wrote for Un Extraño Enemigo (Amazon) and then moved to Los Angeles in order to work as a writer and consulting producer on El Candidato (Amazon). Since coming back to Mexico, Krauze has worked as a writer and executive producer for the second and third seasons of Luis Miguel: The Series. He just signed an overall deal with Amazon, in order to develop series and feature films. He´s repped by CAA.

BélO has been hailed as Haiti’s musical ambassador to the world. A socially conscious singer-songwriter with a sophisticated sound and winner of numerous awards, including the prestigious "Prix Radio France International Discoveries of 2006," BelO’s sound is a sublime mixture of Jazz, Worldbeat, Rock, Reggae and Afro- Haitian traditional rhythms known as “Ragganga”. With five albums already under his belt- “LAKOU TRANKIL” (2005) "REFERENCE" (2008), Haiti Debout (2011), Natif Natal (2014) and Dizan (2016) -sung in his rich and colorful native language, Haitian Creole, BélO has established himself as a Haitian-International artist signpost. After the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, BélO 's primary focus was to create awareness for his country at various performances around the world. BélO 's third album "HAITI DEBOUT," (Haiti Stand-up -2011) was released under Radio France/France Info and distributed, globally, by Harmonia Mundi. During the " HAITI DEBOUT " tour, BélO has performed in Germany, Rome, Romania, France, South Korea, London, Canada and the U.S. His latest album, Motivasyon, came out in 2019. BélO has always been very committed to the cause of the less fortunate, the education of children, respect for women, social solidarity and environmental protection, peace in Haiti and around the world. The earthquake, which devastated his country, gives more strength to his commitment, and intensifies the messages he conveys in his songs.

Johana Bahamón is manager of second chances for the prison and post-prison population of Colombia. She is an actress, businesswoman, founder and executive president of Fundación Acción Interna. She was appointed by the Ministry of Justice and Law in Colombia as Goodwill Ambassador to promote the resocialization and humanization of the prison system (2014).

Johana studied Business Administration at CESA (Colegio de Estudios Superiores de Administración) and took acting courses and workshops in Bogotá and New York. In 2000 she began her acting career; after participating in fifteen productions, she retired from acting to work in prisons in Colombia. In 2012, she created a theater group in the women's prison El Buen Pastor in Bogota, through which she began her work of re-socialization and humanization of the prison system. To date, she has worked in all of Colombia's prisons and her programs have benefited thousands of people deprived of liberty, post-penalty and their family members.

The Patricia Govea Collection is a socially responsible clothing brand, created to provide sustainable and constant employment to 300 artisans from 12 different Wixárika communities in Mexico. The Wixárika indigenous community has lived in isolation for thousands of years, safeguarding the seeds of humanity through its traditions and culture. Their mission is to provide sustainable and constant employment, which allows the women of the Wixárika community to participate in the creation of economies of scale. The company pays fair wages, finances education, and promotes the health and well-being of artists. The goal is to dignify the people who work behind our collection, and the stories behind each stitch and how they generate a social impact for the benefit of our community. She advocates in defense of equality, inclusion and dignity of the most vulnerable indigenous women in Mexico.

German is a writer, producer, director, software developer and expert in emerging technologies such as VR. He co-founded 3DAR in 2004, a mixed visual arts /technology company. Enthusiastic about team building, he always pushed for animate workspace with only one requirement: great talent. He’s very passionate about storytelling and great characters.

Camille Selvon is an award-winning digital media expert with specialization in animation and new media. She graduated from Goldsmiths University London, where she won the Royal Television Society Award for her student short ‘The Master PEACE.’ Currently she is the lead for Animation Studies at The University of Trinidad and Tobago and the Project Manager for the TTAP Factory, an IDB funded animation and technology hub at the UTT flagship Tamana Campus. In 2015 she was nominated for the Commonwealth Foundation Women in Business Award and has received several accolades as a digital activist, where she uses technology to impact the lives of at-risk-youths in the Caribbean. Her activism has taken her to prisons in Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and several homes for girls in Suriname and Guyana. Her purpose is to close the digital divide in the Caribbean and by extension the world. Ms. Selvon was instrumental in the development of two CXC CAPE Curriculum programs, one in Animation and the other in Digital Media. She currently serves as an Assistant Chief Examiner at CXC Caribbean Examination Council where she has served for over 12 years.

Andres is a graduate of the Javeriana University in Business Administration with a specialization in strategic marketing from CESA and a GLOBAL MBA from the Egade Business School of Tecnológico de Monterrey.

He has 23 years of international experience in leadership, design, implementation and execution of commercial, marketing, product, service and business strategies, focused on the sustainable and profitable growth of the business. For 3 and a half years he served as Vice President and Country Manager of FOX /Estudios Telemexico in Mexico executing operation, sales, service and product strategies, and generating growth within the audiovisual industry and production services.

In 2020 he arrives at Dynamo as COO (Chief Operating Officer) seeking to guide the team towards the achievement of the strategic objectives.

Haitian writer, actor, and director Gessica Généus began her career as a 17-year-old with Richard Sénécal’s feature film, Barikad. That film launched Généus’s career and led her to take on leading roles in the critically acclaimed hits of Haiti’s film renaissance in the 2000s like Does the President Have Aids? and The Loves of a Zombie. After the country’s devastating earthquake in 2010, she moved to Paris and studied acting in Paris for two years before eventually moved into directing. Gessica has collaborated with many Haitian and international directors. She played in the TV movie dedicated to Toussaint Louverture, produced by France 2, released her first documentary in 2019 “The Sun Will Rise”, and made her fictional directorial debut, Freda (2021), which became the first film by a female Haitian director to be nominated for an award at Cannes Festival and to be a finalist in Africa’s biggest pan-African film festival, FESPACO, where it claimed second place in the Étalon d’Or (the Golden Stallion).

Généus is widely followed by Haitians on social media and often advocates for the treatment of Haitian migrants. In 2010, after the earthquake, she also became involved in the reconstruction of her country and worked with the United Nations on various emergency shelter programs.

Daniel Monroy spent almost 19 years providing outsourcing services for several companies and advertising agencies in the field of digital design and development and sharing his knowledge in the educational area by teaching at universities such as Galileo, URL among others for several years. He is inspired by the potential in the use of technology and entertainment to promote culture, education, promote services or products and transmit messages through creative visual interaction. He has projects in Spain, Washington DC, Panama, and Peru, among others, as ventures using ICTs as a means of innovation. His vision is giving back to people by sharing the knowledge and experiences acquired so that more young people can achieve their goals.

Marsia received the BEST CHEF IN LATIN AMERICA AWARD, granted by the prestigious list of the world 50 best restaurants. In 2022 is nominated by THE BEST CHEF AWARD magazine as one of the 100 best chefs in the world. She studied cooking at the First School of Hospitality and Tourism in Bolivia and at the Center for Hotel Studies of the Canary Islands in Spain. She did internships in Danish restaurants such as Studio, The Standard and Geist. She participated in gastronomic competitions such as the Aztec Culinary Contest, qualifiers for the Bocuse d ́or, and worked in several kitchens of the old continent before returning to Bolivia.

Martin Spicer is currently the regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean, where he oversees IFC’s investment and advisory program for the region. Spicer has over 25 years of experience with IFC. He served as IFC’s director for Blended Finance and he previously managed teams responsible for investments in IFC’s manufacturing, agribusiness and services business in Latin America and the Caribbean, telecommunications, media and technology business in Asia, Europe, Middle East and North Africa, and for infrastructure and natural resources in Europe.

William Sonneborn is Senior Director, International Finance Corporation, overseeing investments in Disruptive Technologies and Funds.

Prior to joining IFC, Bill was the President of EIG, a leading energy and infrastructure investment firm, and a member of its Investment and Executive Committees. Prior to joining EIG, he was a partner of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and a member of KKR’s Management Committee. Bill served as CEO of KKR Asset Management (the public markets side of KKR) as well as CEO and Director of KKR Financial Corporation, a publicly traded specialty finance firm. He also sat on the board of Nephila Capital, a $10 billion hedge fund that is one of the largest private tech-enabled reinsurance vehicles in the world. Prior to joining KKR, he was with the global investment firm TCW Group, Inc., most recently as President and Chief Operating Officer. Previously, he worked at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in New York and Hong Kong, where he focused on mergers & acquisitions.

Marc Alain Boucicault (MAB) is a proud Haitian ecosystem builder currently pursuing a Masters in Public Administration at Harvard. He is the founder of Banj, an entrepreneurship hub located in Port-au-Prince. He brought Facebook and Google to Haiti to work with developers and to support entrepreneurship in a nation still seen as a destination mostly for humanitarian work. Born, raised and college educated in Port-au-Prince, he worked 7 years in international development in Washington, DC and in Port-au-Prince at the World Bank and with the Inter-American Development Bank before he decided to create his own businesses. He is also co-founder of Groupe ECHO Haiti, a grassroots organization valorizing the potential of young adults in development in Haiti through which he created and lead several innovative projects including ELAN Haiti, the biggest international platform that brings together a community of students, young leaders and entrepreneurs from Haiti, its diaspora and the world focused on taking joint actions in Haiti.

MAB is responsible for partnerships at the Haiti Tech Summit: The biggest international tech event in the history of the country. He also serves as Board Member at the French-Haitian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CFHCI) and at the Haitian Education and Leadership Program (HELP). Marc Alain is a Fulbright scholar and a One Young World Ambassador. He holds an M.A in Financial Economic Policy from American University and a B.A in Applied Quantitative Economics from CTPEA. He believes that entrepreneurship is the only way out of poverty for Haiti and, through his various involvements, he is offering all those willing to go in that direction a seat at the table.

The Meiling brand has existed for over three decades which have been stamped with accolades and awards including collaborations with Emmy Award-winning costume designer, Peter Minshall on his Carnival productions, the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta. First recipient of Caribbean Designer of the year at Caribbean Fashion Week (CFW) and in 2008 “Grand Master of Fashion Design” in the same year presented the Chaconia Silver Medal, a national award given for the designer's long and meritorious service to Trinidad and Tobago's business sector. 2010 one of the only two designers in the English-speaking Caribbean to be invited to show at Plataforma K in Colombia the most prestigious fashion trade show in the south America region and invited back in 2011.

Miguel Rivera is Vice President of Global Programming and Content at Cinépolis, one of the world's largest film exhibition companies. He oversees programming teams in the 14 territories where Cinépolis operates, as well as oversight of alternative content and film distribution initiatives. He has also led efforts at Cinépolis in terms of digital deployment, anti-piracy initiatives and film festival exhibitions.

He joined the company in 2005 as Director of Strategic Planning and was Director of Programming for Mexico from 2009 to 2015. Prior to joining Cinépolis, Miguel worked at the Embassy of Mexico to the OECD in Paris, France, as an analyst for the Technical Secretariat of the Social Cabinet in the Executive Office of the President of Mexico, and as a consultant at McKinsey and Co. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from ITAM and a master’s degree in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at the Harvard University.

Renata Rodrigues is a journalist and a social scientist that founded in 2015 a group named Bloco Mulheres Rodadas, the first feminist bloco in Rio de Janeiro. Since then, she and the bloco took part in several initiatives and campaigns to fight gender violence, racism, homophobia in Carnival. The bloco also musically and politically attracts and trains hundreds of women every year, encouraging their autonomy and independence.

Duda Magalhães: President of DreamFactory, a multi-themed live entertainment ecosystem in segments such as street carnival, arts, marathon, rally, kitesurfing, surfing, music festivals, among others. He is an advisor to the NGO Ação Social pela Música do Brasil (ASMB) whose mission is social and cultural education through the teaching of classical music.

Amalia Viviana Basanta Hernández is the Artistic Director of the Folkloric Ballet of Mexico of Amalia Hernández and General Director of the Ballet Mėxico en Movimiento. She was born in Mexico City, the daughter of Master Amalia Hernández and the Argentine writer Joaquín Basanta. She began her Dance studies at the age of five, both in the Traditional Mexican Dance in the Folkloric Ballet of Mexico, and in the profession of Classical Dance with Master Nellie Happei. At the age of 13, she was part of the National Ballet of Mexico with Maestra Guillermina Bravo, where she studied Contemporary Dance. Later she studied abroad both modern and contemporary Jazz Technique with teachers such as Alvin Nikolai, Murray Louise, Hania Holm, Alvin Ailey, Horton, Dunham, In 1977, she returned to form part of the Folkloric Ballet of Mexico, as a dancer, and goes ballets out of repertoire strengthening the future of the Company created by the Teacher and Choreographer Amalia Hernández. In the year of 1979 she was named First Dancer of the Company of the Folkloric Ballet of Mexico and later Artistic Coordinator of the Company of the same for more than 15 years, as well as the direction of the School of the aforementioned Ballet for 10 years.

Ana Hernandez started her career in the film industry as a special effects engineer. Later, she specialized in the production department working by the hand of prominent Mexican film professionals. In 2011, she graduated from the Master in Film Business at the Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya (Barcelona, Spain) as a fellow by Mexico’s National Fund of Culture and Arts (FONCA).

In 2020, she co-funds OCTOPUS, a company of underwater film solutions. She is currently working as Head of Production in Cimarrón Cine México. Her films include ROMA (Alfonso Cuarón, 2018) where her production work earned her recognition from the Directors Guild of America (Outstanding Achievement Award for Feature Film Director) in 2019. As Executive Producer she has titles such as BELZEBUTH (Emilio Portes, 2019) and INTIMATE BATTLES (Lucía Gajá, 2016). She has produced films such as ESA ERA DANIA (Dariela Ludlow, 2017) and MENTE REVÓLVER (Alejandro Ramírez, 2017) where she was Associate Producer. As an Online Producer, the series SEÑORITA 89 (Puenzo, 2022), EL BAILE DE LOS 41 (David Pablos, 2021), LOS HEREDEROS (Jorge Hernández, 2015) and UN MONSTRUO DE MIL CABEZAS (Rodrigo Plá, 2016) stand out. As Production Manager, he participated in NO MANCHES FRIDA (2016), CLUB DE CUERVOS (2018), and recently in the series MOSQUITO COAST (2021).

AZULTRABUCO is a Bogota salsa ensemble that mixes styles such as salsa, cumbia, salsa-choke, chachá and boogaloo among other Latin genres within its music.Led by Carlos Rengifo, double bass player, arranger and composer with a great musical career, AZULTRABUCO has developed an impeccable musical work that has led him to have presentations at festivals such as SXSW 2019, SALSA AL PARQUE 2016.

They are currently working on the production of their second recording project called “BARRIO ADENTRO”. Three singles from this second musical production will be released in May 2022: NADA performed by MONICA CASTILLO, SABES performed by CARLOS RENGIFO and SANDUNGUERA with the performance and collaboration of Jacobo Vélez ¨El Callehueso¨ from LA MAMBANEGRA. AZULTRABUCO launched its first musical production in 2012 entitled "Calle Caliente" which was well received by the Bogota salsa audience. One of his singles entitled "Bien Pegao" was included in the compilation of the album "SALSA DC" from the record label MTM Records.

Ricardo Chantilly was the music manager responsible for the careers of Brazilian bands such as Jota Quest, O Rappa, Armandinho, among others. In partnership with AFROREGGAE, in 2019 he created the AFROGAMES project, the first training center for professional eSports players within a favela in the world. This digital inclusion project serves 150 young people in the favela of Vigario Geral, in Rio de janeiro. In 2021, AfroGames set up the first professional LOL (League Of Legends) team consisting of 5 boys and 1 girl. In 2022, AfroGames plans to transform the Vigário Geral favela into a digital inclusion hub, also reaching children aged 8 and over, and training professional IT workers, in addition to opening two more units in the Maré complex and one unit in Niterói, expanding the project's reach to 500 young slum dwellers.

Simón Wilches-Castro is an award-winning animation director from Colombia, currently based in Los Angeles where he works as a Creative Director at Titmouse. His films have screened in festivals around the world and have earned him various recognitions, including two Adobe Design Achievement Award awards, Three Annie Awards nominations, Two ADC awards shortlists and two student Academy Award regional finalist nominations, as well as six consecutive official selections in the Annecy Festival, among others. He recently served as animation director for Dua Lipa’s latest animated video, Hallucinate and Charlie Kaufman’s I’m Thinking of Ending Things. He directed The Emperor’s Newest Clothes for HBO and did a One Direction Smut fiction for Euphoria. Simón received his MFA from the John C. Hench Division of Animation at USC and is also a Fulbright Scholar.

Daniel Murta, a.k.a Coxa, is co-founder and CEO at Indaband, a social + music collaboration platform that enables people to co-create music, have the feeling of playing together from a distance, and celebrate their music-related activities. He is also co-founder, former CEO, and chairman at Jusbrasil, the lead Law and Government website in Brazil, making justice more accessible to +20 million monthly unique visitors.

On a personal level Coxa is married and a father of two. He was born in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil’s first capital. He is an engineer and loves engineering thinking - that mindset of solving problems and challenging the way things are done. He believes work and passion should walk hand in hand, and the same goes for friends and teammates - we should only work with people we admire. He also loves music and spending time talking about the true nature of reality.

Jesse Royal is a Grammy-nominated, internationally acclaimed singer, songwriter, performer, and recording artist from Kingston, Jamaica. Renowned for his numerous 21st century reggae anthems including “Modern Day Judas,” which rails against bad minded people. Rastafarian/singer/songwriter/musician Jesse Royal is one of the island’s most charismatic young talents. His debut album Lily of Da Valley (2017) hit #1 on the U.S. Billboard Reggae Album chart, and his eagerly-awaited follow up LP Royal dropped June 11, 2021. Both albums are released by Easy Star Records. Through vivid storytelling rooted in the belief of a universal truth, his music carries a message of hope, strength, love, and consciousness. Not just a musician, Jesse Royal is a father, a community activist, a thought leader, and a global citizen guided by his spirituality and sense of righteousness. Over the course of his career, Jesse Royal has been blessed to collaborate and create with some of the world’s most respected artists, musicians, and producers including Sean Paul, Vybz Kartel, Stonebwoy, Protoje, Chronixx, Noise Cans, Steve Aoki, Damian Marley, Major Lazer, and many others.

Carmen Julia has worked as a specialist in Brand Management and Brand Management Coordinator at PROMPERÚ's Country Image Promotion Office. She has been a consultant for international organizations such as the Inter-American Development Bank - IDB and the World Intellectual Property Organization. She has also worked as advisor to the Presidency of the Board of Directors of the Environmental Evaluation and Control Agency - OEFA and is currently Advisor to the Executive Presidency of PROMPERÚ.

The publicist Luiz Oscar Niemeyer started his career at Artplan Promoções, in 1979, and remained until 1985 as Director of Promotions and General Coordinator of the Rock in Rio. In 1987 he joined Mills Estruturas, creating Mills & Niemeyer Promoções, responsible for holding major events such as the Paul McCartney concert (Maracanã 1990 – Guinness Book of Records) and Rights Now! (Amnesty International). During his career, he was responsible for the Rolling Stones concerts in Brazil, for over 1.5 million people at Copacabana Beach, as well as U2, Coldplay, Elton John and all Paul McCartney tours between 2010 and 2015. This year, Luiz was producing the MITA Festival, which hosted several concerts from national and international artist in São Paulo.