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InnovaLatino has developed eight country profiles which provide information on national innovation systems and are accessible both from the map and the table of innovative organizations below. These profiles have three principal objectives. The first is to underscore that in any country “innovation” consists of a rich diversity of organizations producing different types of innovations for different purposes under a variety of conditions. Innovation looks quite different depending on what perspective is taken – i.e., a country-level or a firm-level perspective. The second objective is to bring together much of the data included in this report from a country perspective, using key innovation data from the perspective of the eight countries included in the 2010 InnovaLatino Survey (although these profiles do not necessarily constitute a comprehensive collection of the data included in the report nor a complete profile of innovation in each country). A third objective is to encourage those who strive to strengthen innovation in Latin America to consider the richness of innovation from both country-level and firm-level perspectives and foster stronger links between these levels.

A total of 55 vignettes from eight countries – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay – are summarized in the table below.

Introduction and Disclaimer

The above vignettes present a summary of a range of innovations taking place across Latin America within large and small firms, encompassing both the public and private sectors. We define companies from the region as those with headquarters and with majority ownership in a Latin American country. Our goal was to uncover local success stories to inspire entrepreneurs and business people. We give priority to organizations that have had an impact beyond their home country, but we do not seek to rank them. Presenting a diversity of countries, industries, company size and innovation types (including a focus on sustainable development) has been our main criteria for making the selection.

The vignettes describe innovations during 2009 and 2010 – as such, they are not intended to provide a forecast of future success. While we will seek to enlarge the list with new innovators over the lifetime of the project, our main concern is to use this opportunity to recognize and celebrate ongoing innovations within Latin America.

Sources of information used to compile the vignettes include company websites, annual reports, interviews with company executives and media articles.

Classification Criteria of Innovators

InnovaLatino has classified organizations along three dimensions:

• Private and public institutions (blue banners) which foster innovation in the country
• Companies classified by size:
• big firms (yellow banners) – firms with more than 250 employees.
• small and medium-size firms (pink banners) and entrepreneurs – firms with about 250 employees.
• Social innovation, which includes:
• Corporate social responsibility (CSR) (green banners) – Policies implemented by companies designed to have a positive impact on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, other stakeholders and the wider public sphere.
• Social entrepreneurs (purple banners) – cases ranging from social innovators (entrepreneurs who seek to make a profit as well as an impact on society) to non governmental organizations.

Innovation by any of these organizations can include business model innovation or innovation around a product or service. It is often the case that the firm innovates in both dimensions.