From Mexico to Chile, a new generation of innovators is using technology to connect, heal and educate. MIT Technology Review in Spanish recently presented the list of winners of Innovators Under 35, which highlights founders under the age of 35 designing solutions with a real impact.
Divided into four categories covering inventors, entrepreneurs, visionaries, humanitarians and pioneers, those on the list are all creating innovative solutions to address current social issues.
Names include Valentina Agudelo (Salva Health, Colombia), who develops self-diagnostics with her Julieta device; Rodrigo Rodríguez (Tu Cuate, Bolivia), creator of an inclusive digital resale app; and Mercedes Bidart (Quipu, Argentina), pioneer in alternative credit profiles for financial inclusion.
Among them, Roberto Peñacastro, CEO and co-founder of Leadsales, has transformed the way companies manage conversations on WhatsApp, Instagram or Facebook Messenger. His platform, which combines CRM, automation and artificial intelligence, serves 2,800 clients in 20 countries and processes more than 50 million conversations every year.
With studies in International Business (Tec de Monterrey) and executive education at Harvard and Stanford, Peñacastro represents a generation that drives technological maturity through empathy and collective action.
Leadsales already has more than 2,800 clients in 20 countries, processes more than 50 million conversations per year and achieves annual recurring revenues of US$4 million (3.7 million euros). Its success stories include the Believe Hair salon in Mexico City, which doubled sales in less than a year by integrating the platform, and the online iGrow Academy, which tripled its contact rate by migrating from phone calls to WhatsApp.
The company plans to become the operating system for Latin American SMEs and the Hispanic market in the United States, integrating payments and artificial intelligence into its processes.
“We want to show that Latin America not only consumes technology, but also creates and exports it,” says Peñacastro.
The recognition comes at a key moment for the company, which has grown beyond the Mexican market with a presence in several Spanish-speaking countries. In addition, the platform incorporates more and more functions based on artificial intelligence, such as performance analysis and response automation, consolidating its role as a bridge between small businesses and competitive digital environments.
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