"The goal of impact investing goes well beyond the promise of financial return-it's about solving social and environmental challenges. Ben Powell and his team at Agora Partnerships realized that while there's no shortage of energy and growth potential in Latin America, there's a major bottleneck at the intersection of entrepreneurs and capital. Agora Partnerships is helping to change that.

Ben Powell is the Founder and CEO of Agora Partnerships. Ben first became convinced of the power of small business to transform poor communities after co-founding CityGolf Puebla, a miniature golf course and family recreation center in Mexico. Ben earned an MSFS from Georgetown University then completed a Presidential Management Fellowship at the Office of Management and Budget. In 2005 he earned an MBA from Columbia University and launched Agora, working with entrepreneurs in Nicaragua. Since then, he has been named a Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation Entrepreneur, a BMW Foundation Young Leader, an Ashoka Fellow, and one of the top 40 under 40 development leaders in Washington D. C. Ben is an alumnus of Haverford College and a native of Cambridge, Massachusetts. He lives in Washington, D. C."