Telefonica brings problems and ideas.

247 – Things aren't looking too good for Telefonica, at least not in São Paulo. This week, thousands of people were left without internet access due to a Speedy outage, and they expressed some of their anger through complaints to the Spanish company and on social media. However, the company's president for Latin America, José María Álvarez-Pallete, has some good news for the continent's citizens. On Wednesday, the last day of the La Red Innova innovation and entrepreneurship event, he announced plans to accelerate the development of the Wayra project, which will be launched in the region.

With this new initiative, the company aims to finance and support new talent so that projects can be developed in their respective countries. Before the end of the year, the company will open eight centers across the continent so that young people can access Wayra. The program already has two centers in Mexico and Colombia, and will gain two more in Madrid and Barcelona, ​​Spain. The first ten projects funded by the program will be ready before the end of this month. Between $50 and $100 will be made available to each project in the first phase, in addition to physical resources such as infrastructure for entrepreneurs, without requiring any exclusivity.

“If no one does anything about the enormous talent in the region, it will migrate to the United States and Europe. That's why we need to create a solid system so that these projects can develop in Latin America,” said Álvarez-Pallete. “Infrastructure is not enough. We have to become accelerators of ideas,” he added. La Red Innova takes place three times a year, with one edition held in Brazil. This year's edition concluded this Thursday in Madrid, Spain.