Focus
Former scrap collector crowned YBI’s Entrepreneur of the Year by The Prince of Wales
20th November 2009
Juan Ramón Nuñez, owner of an sound and lighting company operating in a deprived area of Buenos Aires, has been named the winner of an international competition for young entrepreneurs.
The 34-year-old was named as the winner of Youth Business International’s Entrepreneur of the Year competition at an event this week at St James’s Palace.
The Prince hosted the event, held to mark the first day of Global Entrepreneurship Week, and commended Juan Ramón on his achievement.
Founded in the UK in 2000, Youth Business International (YBI) is a not-for-profit organisation that leads a global network of independent country initiatives helping young people to start their own business and create employment.
With a network spanning 40 countries across six continents, YBI enables the launch of thousands of new enterprises and significantly increases business survival and growth rates – key factors in job creation and sustainable economic development.
YBI is one of The Prince’s Charities, a group of not-for-profit organisations of which The Prince of Wales is President.
Juan Ramón was orphaned at the age of one and had to collect and sell cardboard to make a living before managing to set up first a community radio station, and then an audiovisual company. He was selected as the Entrepreneur of the Year by a high-profile judging panel which included Deborah Meaden, entrepreneur and star of BBC series Dragon’s Den.
The judges said: “We chose Juan Ramón because he displays a true entrepreneurial spirit of not accepting his lot, striving against adversity and identifying a market and then attacking that market through a scaleable business. He is a true inspiration and we wish him success in the future.”
Juan Ramón said: “This recognition is like a stepping stone for me. Its the start of a new phase in my entrepreneurial career.”
Juan Ramón, who suffers from acute heart problems, has been able to create a successful entrepreneurial career which has provided real benefits to his local community.
For four years – in the thick of the Argentine economic crisis – he saved every penny he earned as a scrap collector in order to set up a community radio station.
Following its success, he was then able to launch his audiovisual operation with the help of Fundación Impulsar, a local organisation which gives funding and mentoring to young entrepreneurs in Argentina.
His business, The Light of Sound has not only become a successful business venture, but also plays an important role in bringing the local community together.
Juan Ramón was competing against three other finalists in the competition: Ghadah Baaqil, a Saudi Arabian entrepreneur who established a centre for autistic children; Jorge Alberto Noverón, an eco-friendly architect in Mexico; and Philip Ross and Martin Izod, a pair of Scottish inventors who pioneered a safety door hinge.
In addition to Deborah Meaden, the judges on the panel were: Claire Young, runner-up in the 2008 BBC series The Apprentice; Rachel Bridge, the enterprise editor for The Sunday Times newspaper; Jake Meyer, a record-breaking mountaineer.
Juan Ramón will receive prize money of US$5,000 from Youth Business International. Fundación Impulsar will also receive $5,000 in recognition of its work in supporting Juan Ramón.
Youth Business International’s Entrepreneur of the Year competition celebrates young entrepreneurs around the world whose businesses help to grow local communities, stimulate job creation and provide essential products and services.