Shaping Horizons is a social enterprise and community founded by Dr Matias Acosta (UK-Canada Fellow at the Centre for Science and Policy and Research Associate the Centre for Latin American Studies) which provides training and mentorship in innovation for young entrepreneurs in Latin America and the UK.

To date (2022), Shaping Horizons has upskilled 148 young volunteers, 268 young innovators and 45 corporate mentors, and provided 157,000 learning hours. Participants have created 33 social innovation projects. Over 20% remain operational as social enterprises after two years, including Visit for Good a sustainable tourist organisation that promotes local development, LUFINDO a game for teenagers with real-life financial scenarios, and Re-inventa a place where people from low-income households build socioenvironmental ventures, to name a few. Shaping Horizons empowers and upskills young people to be part of the change that they want to see.

“Shaping Horizons is absolutely driven by the sense of entrepreneurship, innovation, and ideas of the young people involved. It is fascinating to see the proposals that come out.”

– Nigel Baker OBE MVO, former Head of the Latin America Department at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office