During the last Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2016, developed in Silicon Valley, Mariana Costa Checa, Peruvian social entrepreneur, shared a panel with President Barack Obama and Facebook Mark Zuckerberg.

There, Costa Checa talked about Laboratoria, a technological social Enterprise that she co-founded that aims to empower young women who had no access to quality superior education in Peru, Mexico and Chile. How do they accomplish this goal? With their CodeAcademy and WebShop, which provides these young women the chance to train and start a career in the digital sector.

When developing Laboratoria, Costa Checa identified three key problems that would turn into an opportunity:

• A challenge in training people in the web development area that the market demands
• To be successful in this area, you do not need a university degree
• There is a lack of women participating in this sector

Two years later, Laboratoria has become a startup with social impact. Around 70% of its graduates get a job and earn almost three times more than the used to. In addition, their training is not limited only to technical skills. These young women also develop strong socio-emotional skills that are deeply valued among those who hire Laboratoria’s talent.

To learn more about Laboratoria, click here.