The Latin American region has a long track record of important technical and social innovations which have made huge contributions in products and practices that changed our modern world (ranging from the airplane, the automobile gearbox, the Walkman, the color TV, voice-recorded radio transmissions, to conditional cash transfers, participatory budgeting, and bus rapid transportation systems).

Much can be learned from Latin American creativity, as often initiatives take place with little resources and opportunities at hand. A Brazilian engineer changed the lives of millions of poor people with little more than a plastic bottle, water, and a bit of bleach. This has also been seen in the richness of local responses and Latin American solidarity in face of the global pandemic.

São Paulo, being one of the largest metropolises in the world, encapsulates the challenges and opportunities found in Brazil and Latin America. While sustainable and equitable development is a major challenge, it also represents immense learning and business opportunity. Economic hurdles are answered by a bustling informal economy, spaces of the city are appropriated by street art and music, mobility under pressure is alleviated by multi-modal transport systems in combination with ride-sharing and delivery apps, to name a few of the out-of-the-box solutions.