More than 40 million Brazilians live in housing that suffers from residual damp, mold, and poor ventilation, all factors that contribute to serious public health problems. Jardim Pantanal is a poor community, in the East Zone of São Paulo built on wetland at the edge of the city. High humidity and frequent flooding mean many residents live in housing that is permanently damp and in constant need of repair.Founded in 2014 Moradigna provides building and renovation services to low-income households in Jardim Pantanal, helping residents improve their living environment and their health.
Matheus Cardoso, founder of Moradigna is a resident of Jardim Pantanal. “When families realize they can transform the whole house they feel empowered, knowing that they can live in a better environment. Its is not a privilege, it’s a human right. A house is the most important part of many peoples lives, to Moradigna, making people feel comfortable and healthy inside their own home is very gratifying.”

Currently, Moradigna employees +22 workers from the local area and has transformed more than 100 houses, impacting more than 500 lives. Moradigna has proven that there is a huge unmet demand of this kind of service in low-income communities in Brazil.

On 20 March this year, Luis Miguel Botero discovered that his social business, Pomario, faced an existential threat. It was the day that a nation-wide quarantine in Colombia was announced, which was ultimately extended until the end of August. For Botero, as for many business owners, this presented the threat that his social businesses’ revenues would disappear overnight.
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The ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes once famously noted that: “we have two ears and one tongue so that we would listen more and talk less“. The act of listening as a means of truly understanding an entrepreneur is an important skill when it comes to tackling the challenges they face.