How I fundraised my way into TrepCamp!
My name is Felipe Souza from the city of Triunfo - Pernambuco in the northeast region of Brazil, I am a Bacharelado student in Economic Sciences at UFRPE / UAST.
From a very young age, around 10 years old, I started to undertake as a way to help my family with bills. Upon entering the University in a nearby city, a greater effort was needed to help with travel costs and with that I started in the production and sale of homemade sweets, where I worked for two years, after that I obtained an internship in my own University in the Purchasing and Contract sectors that improved my financial situation a little.
Therefore, in my research on entrepreneurship and innovation I discovered TREPCAMP and I was delighted, so I immediately applied to the Assessment Center and, to my surprise, I was selected from more than 30,000 candidates in the world and with a scholarship for my performance.
So, immediately I had to leave my comfort zone and look for ways to raise money to be able to participate in Mexico City at Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, because unfortunately I couldn't pay all the costs. In less than two months I was able to raise all the money for tickets, food, accommodation and other expenses with passports through crowdfunding campaigns and product sales, which shows that with dedication and commitment we can make all our dreams come true.
Upon arriving at TREPCAMP, I realized that it was the realization of a dream in a bigger way than I imagined. During the 3 weeks in Mexico I managed to apply the knowledge acquired in the pre-work and form a multidisciplinary and international team with different experiences.
During TREPCAMP I met extraordinary people, businessmen in residence who provided a valuable network. In addition to iconic organizations such as GOOGLE, IBM, Cisco and Woman Lab. Also, I have created links with entrepreneurs and students that I will take for life.
Upon returning to Brazil, I was surprised as I got an invitation to become a TREPCAMP Ambassador and to be an agent of transformation and change in the region in which I live, thus providing further local development.
Currently, I work on different projects in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation. During this pandemic period, I am working with a team to create solutions for the Covid-19 period, with an emphasis on new relationships to be established.
