Akredito founder, Pedro Boot, joined the 2018 Challenge and now he sees his impact plan come to life

Akredito founder, Pedro Boot, joined the 2018 Challenge and now he sees his impact plan come to life

The desire to improve the lives and finances of his fellow Brazilians was the fuel to Pedro’s fire. Eight months after the Challenge, he returns to the Netherlands to share his story with us.

 

Pedro Boot

Pedro Boot at the kickoff of the 2018 Challenge

On 22 May, we had the pleasure to welcome Pedro Boot, one of our 2018 alumni, at the Nudge office. He shared his life story with us, and the progress he’s made with his impact plan, which is now a fully blossomed social enterprise, Akredito. His story is fascinating and his initiative inspiring.

The vicious circle of 63 million people in debt

Pedro is from Brazil, where the percentage of people in debt is as high as 30%. This translates into 63 million people. They are registered in credit rating agencies because they defaulted on a bill. The consequences are severe and go far beyond not being able to get a loan. Often, this means being turned down for jobs, or even for trying to get one’s child in school. The defaulters are socially and financially excluded, going through life as pariahs. They don’t have a job, they’re unable to get one and thus, unable to pay off their debts. It’s a vicious circle.

When Pedro applied for the Challenge 2018, he had just founded Akredito, which focuses on refinancing the debts of the financially excluded defaulters in Brazil. But that’s not all Akredito does. They bail people out of debt, but also, they are educating them on how to manage their finances, so that they don’t end up being in debt again. “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime” says an ancient proverb, and Akredito really puts that into practice.

akredito

“The Challenge gave me the energy to keep going”

Pedro’s impact plan, Akredito, creates opportunities for reintegration in society, but it also promotes a healthy and sustainable economy for everyone. This is why the Challenge is so essential in helping people put their ideas into practice. It offers the tools, knowledge, skills, inspiration necessary, but also it offers the opportunity to share all this with like-minded people. Pedro shared his main takeaway from the Challenge with us: “Being among all the participants and inspirational speakers, [the Challenge] inspired me and gave me the energy to keep going and to execute my plan”.

There are many ways to create impact and Pedro’s plan is to combat social exclusion, due to financial issues. Impact is about breaking the barriers that cut off a part of the society, obstructing people from having the same opportunities as everyone else. We are always happy to empower and encourage people to work towards a more sustainable world. So, thank you Pedro, we were delighted to Nudge you!

Want to follow Pedro’s footsteps? Are you passionate about an impact idea, but don’t know how to realise it? Apply for the Nudge Global Impact Challenge, until 1 July!