Build Latin America's next generation of leaders!

Hello from LALA!

We hope you and your loved ones are well and keeping safe.

It is an exciting time at LALA! As we navigate 2022 and its mix of opportunities and challenges as the world recovers from the Pandemic, it gives us joy that with our donors, partners, staff, volunteers, students, and alumni, we are helping transform the leadership landscape of Latin America.

Over five years since our inception, this year marked the beginning of an exciting growth phase where we seek to triple our annual student intake by 2025.

Please find more information below on some key accomplishments that your support made possible for LALA, and learn about our upcoming plans! 

Launch of our new brand during LALA’s fifth birthday celebration

On 10th July, our community celebrated LALA’s 5th birthday with alumni, parents, staff, and donors coming together to showcase their gratitude and sense of belonging with emotional testimonials that reminded us of the importance of our community.

On top of the memorable encounter, we also launched our new brand and visual identity, which better represents our mission, goals, identity, and growth in Latin America - as well as makes us more recognizable in the process.

With this new look, we hope to showcase who we are as an organization and community. We are, indeed, the same LALA, just more conspicuous and consistent. To read more about the decision-making process behind our rebranding, as well as discover other details such as our new typefaces, iconography, and colors, we invite you to check out our revamped website.

Building the paths for the young leaders of the future

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the average unemployment rate for 15 to 24-year-olds reached 23.8% in the first quarter of 2021, the highest level recorded since this index began to be compiled in 2006 by the International Labor Organization. Besides not having access to opportunities, most young people do not feel prepared with the skills required in the positions available due to poor access to high-quality internet connectivity and education for skills and new technologies in the labor market.

Our mission is to systematically help young people develop high-impact careers that give them purpose, maximize their learning, and promote social mobility. We do this by removing financial, cultural, and access barriers to development opportunities and building a holistic ecosystem that creates space and access to high-impact careers. 

And to contribute to this mission, early this year, we started LALA’s High Impact Careers department, whose strategy focuses on removing barriers and broadening access to opportunities from a holistic perspective on the journey of our young leaders. We believe that offering relevant work opportunities to our students early in their careers can be a turning point towards personal and professional development and financial freedom. This is why we have developed our Internship Program.

The Internship Program is an initiative that connects LALA youth with paid work opportunities at the world’s top companies and non-profit organizations. The program offers a 6-week training to develop skills and prepare them for their initial professional journeys. Since its implementation in early 2021, the program has delivered 52 paid internships in 28 partner organizations and 6 countries (Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and the United States).

Relying on multi-sector partners to leverage the largest number of opportunities is a key element of this initiative. 

Do you work with a company that would like to sponsor an intern? Kindly email felipe.amaral@somoslala.org today!

We are excited to welcome industry titans to the Board of Directors

As we enter an ambitious scaling phase to amplify our systemic impact in Latin America - LALA is thrilled to announce two new additions to our Board of Directors! 

We welcome Zé Dias, Partner and Managing Director of Remessa Online and C-level executive at EBANX, and Paulo Passoni, a renowned Latin American entrepreneur and investor.

Zé is an executive with over 20 years of experience developing winning cultures and teams, long and short-term plans, and improving P&L performance in several industries. He is currently acting as partner and Managing Director for Remessa Online and is overseeing its integration with EBANX. As a leader, Zé has longstanding experience in developing enterprises and is an ardent supporter of non-profit initiatives.

Paulo created and led SoftBank’s truly independent Latin America $5bn fund alongside Marcelo Claure and Shu Nyatta. The fund invested in almost 80 growth equity companies from 2019 to 2022 and catalyzed a new wave of investments by local and global firms within the LatAm region. He left SoftBank in April 2022 and intends on joining Shu in creating a new independent firm focused on growth equity in Latin America in April 2023. He is an investment guru with vast experience in Latin America and globally. He is a big believer in Latin America’s potential to produce innovation and is deeply involved in social causes via Fundação Estudar, Renova Brasil, and LALA

As LALA scales and our operations become more complex and international, it gives us great confidence to count on their guidance and oversight as Board members.

We thank you once again for all your support as LALA marks five years of impact - Thank you for supporting our scholarship fund!

"Obrigracias," from the entire LALA community, your support is making an impact across Latin America.

Gratefully,

Diego Ontaneda, Co-founder & CEO

Links:

• Visit the LALA new website