Skollar 2005/06
Before coming to Oxford, Juan Jose Ochoa was CEO of FIS Empresa Social SA, a microfinance social enterprise he had founded six years previously. In Argentina more than 75 per cent of the population lack access to financial services, and FIS provides access to capital to this segment of the population to help them create their own way out of poverty.
Juan Jose decided to do an MBA in order to develop his management skills and in order to get an international perspective on his business. He selected the Oxford MBA because it offered a global experience combined with the opportunity to focus on social entrepreneurship. Winning a Skoll Scholarship enabled him to take a year off from FIS to study, and he relocated to Oxford with his wife and two children. He says that he and they found Oxford a “fabulous and inspiring environment”.
High points in Juan Jose’s year in Oxford included hearing Anita Roddick speak at the Saïd Business School, hearing Al Gore speak at the Skoll World Forum, joining in with sporting activities, and travelling in Europe with friends and family. “I found excellent and committed teaching and an amazing group of classmates all keen to continue the collaborative and friendly tradition of the MBA class at Oxford,” he says.
After graduating, Juan Jose returned to his role. “The Oxford MBA gave me not only the insight but also the tools – finance, entrepreneurial finance, DEM – to develop a strategic partnership with Grupo ACP (www.grupoacp.com.pe) that is the right blend of sound business, social purpose and cultural fit to help us grow,” he says. For the future, he plans to establish FIS - renamed "Emprenda - Crédito para Crecer" after de the partnership - as the leading microfinance institution in Argentina and then expand the solar panel product across Latin America.