Antonia Sanin

Updated March 2007

Seeking to combine her passion for education, her love of children, and her sharp entrepreneurial ambition, Antonia Sanin has devised a plan to fuse her interests into a coherent business plan. Her company, The Globe, will conduct research into children’s development, provide a range of related educational services and products, whilst offering high-quality childcare, even to low-income families.

Antonia holds a BA in Management from the Universidad de Los Andes in Bogota, which she followed up in 2002 with an MA in Business Education from NYU. “I’ve wanted to work in an education-related field for a long time,” says Antonia. “I have held several positions in higher education establishments [most recently as Development Director of Universidad de Los Andes’ School of Management], but over time, I have begun to shift my focus towards youth pedagogy. At NYU, I participated in an urban education program for underprivileged youth, teaching school children in the Bronx to read. It was an amazing experience, and stoked my passion for working with young people.”

Entrepreneurship in the blood

With a string of entrepreneurs in her family, Antonia has always been surrounded by the desire to make something from nothing. “Having my own company has been an ambition for some time, but I have had to learn a lot to get to this position. Now, the time feels right to set out on my own. I’m still young, have lots of energy, and despite the difficulties of starting up, I know I’ve got what it takes to succeed.”

A cyclical approach to education for students and parents

Welcoming children of 3-6 years of age in the afternoon, when kindergartens close, The Globe will offer a series of workshops and outings to attendants. The workshops support child learning, but will also gather information about best practices for youth education. Findings will be documented and then used to produce a further range of products, such as electronic books for children, and parent workshops. These will further develop the educational experience provided by The Globe.

Wide customer base

We aim to draw support from families whose children already attend some of the prestige kindergartens in nearby neighborhoods,” says Antonia. At the same time, Globe will seek to help children from low-income families. “When I moved back to Colombia from the United States, I taught a Social Responsibilities course at Universidad de Los Andes. Through close work with social foundations, I became aware of the inequality of opportunity available to children of different economic backgrounds, especially in education. This is something I want to rectify, so The Globe will offer reduced-price registration for poorer families, and incentives for wealthier community members – both individuals and companies – to support the less well-off.”

Confidence boost

Antonia discovered the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards through a family friend. “My confidence and enthusiasm for the project were really boosted by my victory."