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Cabaltican, Krystle Elizabeth S.

2989_BSCHE - 3
GENTREP - The Entrepreneurial Mind

1. A picture of the entrepreneur and the logo of the business he/she established.

2. A brief background on his/her life.

Iliac Diaz was born in the Philippines in a wealthy Italian family, he completed studies in
economics, he then worked as an actor and roamed the city’s nightlife but after an early career
in advertising and a Master’s degree in entrepreneurship, he decided to give a new meaning to
his life.
His first social project, Pier One, was designed to help sailors between contracts get a bed close
to the harbor, in an area of Manila where the housing crisis was particularly harsh, the pier one
offers decent accommodation for reasonable budget, scarce with a dormitory gathering 40 beds
at the beginning, then now offers over 1,500 beds, this proof of concept gave birth to the Centro
Migrante initiative, which teaches sailors between contracts how to build their own home. Illac
quickly became renowned worldwide for his action in social entrepreneurship, he gained support
from MIT and Harvard to improve his projects, before founding Myshelter Foundation in 2006,
the organization operating Liter of Light today.

3. The business he/she established and the PURPOSE (or the societal problem it addressed)
why he/she established the business.

Illac founded the MyShelter Foundation in 2006 to promote grassroots sustainable development
through capacity-building and employment-generating projects. Introducing groundbreaking
social enterprise, appropriate low-cost technologies, and alternative construction in the
Philippines, the MyShelter Foundation has pioneered projects such as the Pier One Seafarer’s
Dormitory, the Design Against the Elements (DAtE) competition, and the Bottle School Project,
these projects improves the lives of Filipinos in rural communities through the creation of
classrooms and clinics made of recycled materials like plastic bottles. Illac realized that while he
could build innovative, sustainable structures, he had no way to light buildings constructed far
from the electrical grid, his solution to this challenge led to the Liter of Light movement.

4. Identify the category of entrepreneur he/she falls under.

Illac Diaz is a social entrepreneur working to empower communities in the Philippines and
around the world through several pioneering programs in rammed earth, bamboo, and PET
plastic bottle construction.

5. Answer this question:

Why did you choose him/her?Identify his/her values or qualities that you would want to instill in
your entrepreneurial Louisian-engineer/architect journey.

Illac Diaz didn’t wish, he acted, Diaz recounts his journey of not only bringing power to villages
but empowering villages. His social enterprise brings skills, manufacturing and solar power to
communities around the world. At 44 years old, Diaz is no ordinary entrepreneur. From Peru to
the Philippines, his NGO Liter of Light has already helped 382,000 Filipinos, and 690,000
people throughout the world get out of energy poverty.Thanks to a clever and environmentally
friendly innovation, Diaz has been able to help bring light to poor areas and prevent them from
needing to rely on coal, nuclear and hydro plants.

References:

Illac Diaz: Light by the Liter – Climate Heroes. (n.d.).

https://climateheroes.org/illac-diaz-light-by-the-liter/

Illac Diaz. (n.d.). https://www.asiarealestatesummit.com/speaker/illac-diaz/

TEDx Talks. (2017, November 30). Light in a bottle | Illac Diaz | TEDxMaastricht [Video].
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO-MtRE3lOI