GCUC South America: Who’s Speaking

GCUC South America will take place March 3rd and 4th in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

GCUC SA is just a couple of days away and we’ve heard some thoughts of one speaker who’ll be sharing his insight during these two days.

Manu Vega, founder of Cuenca Coworking in Ecuador, was recently featured in GCUC Radio, where he talked about coworking in Ecuador, why Ecuadorians are seeking more flexible and creative ways to work, and how the government is fostering entrepreneurship and coworking.

Cuenca Coworking was established in 2014 in a townhouse and has grown to 8 locations by now, 4 of which are located inside University campuses. Manu is one of the pioneers of the coworking movement in Ecuador; he’s known for his TEDx Cuenca talk ‘Nuevos Paradigmas para Trabajar e Innovar’ (New Paradigms on how We Work and Innovate).

In a broad spectrum, coworking in Latin America has recently exploded in popularity, with many operators adding more locations to their portfolios. In Ecuador specifically, Manu believes oil prices have played a key role in driving the coworking movement. Ecuador’s economy depends heavily on oil, and with oil prices so low, more people in the country have been seeking new ways to make a living and many have steered in the direction of creative and independent life and work styles.

The government has also played a part in the coworking movement according to Manu. Currently, there are various grants available for entrepreneurs in which the government will give up to $50K to them to develop their ideas. Even more recently, the government invested around $30 million in software development, which led to the creation of a ‘tech village’ coworking spaces where businesses could set up near the city.

Generally speaking, Manu says “coworking is going in a healthy way; it’s a trial and error process.” With 8 locations to manage, Manu has learned that no coworking space can be like another. For him, diversity is what keeps coworking spaces healthy and this diversity is different in each location, affecting the look and feel of a workspace and influencing individuals on which coworking space to join.

“Coworking is the best way to reinvent yourself, you do it with a network and a support system.” With professionals seeking a life and work style change, coworking happens to be the best option around for them. It provides them with the space they need to generate and execute new ideas and plans, with the benefit of having a wide array of professionals that can jump on board and make up part of the necessary team to develop a project.

Manu will be speaking about this and much more during his presentation March 3rd. Other speakers who’ll be attending GCUC South America include founder of GCUC Liz Elam (US), Henrique Bussacos (Brazil), Macarena Botta (Uruguay), Marcelo Cora (Argentina), and Marcus Dantus (Mexico).

Topics that’ll be covered include: community building, coworking economics, business network management, design, three unconference sessions, and more.

Don’t miss out, this is the coworking event in Latin America. And, if you can’t make it to this one you can always join us for AllGCUC, the first conference that’ll bring the whole of the industry together.