Pedro David Espinoza, one of the youngest and most successful social entrepreneurs, serves not only as the founder and CEO of the nonprofit organization Pan Peru USA but has also become a highly sought-after tech investor. Yet, despite his impressive achievements, he never wants to forget his roots.
“Many times, we forget where we come from and our heritage,” Espinoza says. “I feel like I am a Peruvian Ambassador everywhere I go, because there is a lack of Peruvian representation everywhere I go! If it’s a Forbes 30 Under 30 Forum or the World Economic Forum or Climate Week or Horasis, I am intentional in talking about my country, my culture, and my people.”
Indeed, Peru is central to Espinoza’s personal story of resilience and innovation.
Growing up in Lima
Espinoza grew up in Lima, Peru. In high school, he managed to pull down a 4.0 GPA while playing on the varsity tennis team, serving as President of the Music Honor Society and the Business Honor Society, and holding a leadership position in student government.
During the summers, Espinoza held a variety of internships, starting with a stint as a car mechanic. “The next was at a convenience store,” he says. “For the third, I helped gas stations with their financial books.”
Despite these early accomplishments, Espinoza didn’t feel fulfilled. “A lot of people would have assumed I was doing great,” he remembers. “I may have been racking up accomplishments, but I lacked passion for anything. There was a hole in my heart.”
Meanwhile, Espinoza’s mother started a nonprofit organization to support her hometown, Pampas Grande, a village located in the Cordillera Negra mountain range.
“I was about 15 years old, and I couldn’t understand why she was spending so much time and money on this village that was nine hours away,” Espinoza recalls. “One day, I asked why she didn’t buy a guitar for me instead.”
Her answer changed the trajectory of Espinoza’s life.
Pedro David Espinoza finds his passion
“My mother gave me a long look and then told me it’s better to give than to receive,” Espinoza says. “At the time, I didn’t believe her. But she gave me a challenge: she asked me to go up to Pampas Grande and help her nonprofit organization, which was building a library.”
Espinoza was never one to shy away from a challenge.
“Pampas Grande is located at 12,000 feet above sea level,” Espinoza says. “I got altitude sickness on the way up.”
In the end, Espinoza spent a week at the village. In addition to helping construct the library, he met many of the local children and gained an up-close view of the conditions in which they lived.
“They didn’t have tap water or telephones,” he explains. “They also didn’t have opportunities for the future. They were effectively trapped in the same professions as their parents and grandparents.”
Espinoza realized how much good the library would do in this isolated mountain community, and how much more still needed to be done. He also understood the truth of what his mother had told him — that it’s better to give than to receive.
“When I returned to Lima after that week, I had found my passion,” he says.
Making a difference with Pan Peru USA
This spirit of service has informed everything Espinoza has done ever since.
“I continue to serve by presiding over Pan Peru USA, based here in Peru,” Espinoza says. “We’ve built 12 libraries, donated over 14,000 books, and given 10,000 children access to a STEM education. We’ve also donated 500 desks, tables, chairs, and school utensils, and over 50 items of tech equipment (such as laptops, tablets, PCs, and computers). We’ve also built water reservoirs, helped people get access to tap water, and planted thousands of trees.”
Since Pampas Grande’s altitude is too high to grow vegetables, Espinoza and his team have found another way to get fresh produce to them. “We’ve built nine greenhouses next to the schools we work with in Ancash and Lima to engage teenagers and encourage them to become ecopreneurs,” he explains. “We’ve produced 10 tons of agricultural produce such as spinach, tomatoes, and kale. We encourage thousands of kids to eat healthy greens, vegetables, and fruits. Nutrition is key, in addition to education.”
Espinoza also brings the spirit of service to his business ventures.
Becoming a highly successful tech investor
Espinoza founded SmileyGo while he was a college student at Stanford in 2014. This app leverages the experience he gained from convincing major corporations to finance Pan Peru’s efforts to develop Pampas Grande and other villages in the mountains of Peru. SmileyGo connects businesses with vetted nonprofits, enabling them to meet their Corporate Social Responsibility goals.
Due to the app’s success, Espinoza has become a highly sought-after tech investor.
“I mostly invest in fintech and health tech companies,” Espinoza says. “I’m an early investor, board director, and advisor at Melzi Surgical, which makes an FDA-approved medical device that finds needles that have been lost in human bodies. This technology is crucial, since needles that remain in the body after surgery or another medical procedure can be dangerous.”
As a tech investor, Espinoza has also collaborated with Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SVLG), “the nation’s most effective and dynamic business association representing the innovation economy and its ecosystem,” on its inaugural “Launch Circuit” speaker series session. During the discussion, Monica Lozano, CEO of the College Futures Foundation, describes Espinoza as “someone who is courageous [and] confident who has a mission and a purpose, and is willing to step out of a comfort zone.”
More recently, Espinoza was invited to speak with Tsu-Jae King Liu, Dean of the UC Berkeley College of Engineering and the current president of the National Academy of Engineering, as part of the college’s Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology (SCET) A. Richard Newton Distinguished Innovator Lecture Series. During the conversation, Dean Liu described Espinoza as an “inspirational speaker” who is “authentic” and an incredible ambidextrous tennis and pickleball player. She also referred to him as “the Robin Hood of tech” — a moniker Espinoza says was bestowed upon him by La Voz de América in 2017 for his efforts in giving back to his community through his entrepreneurial work.
Espinoza also invests in and serves on the boards of Thailand’s fast-growing electronic medical record company, Ever Medical Technologies; a graduate school in Kansas City that offers master’s degrees in Public Health, called the Institute for International Medicine; and Bangladesh’s largest outpatient medical system, Praava Health, among others.
But that’s not all. Espinoza continues to reap the rewards of his very first investment.
“Back in 2017, I became an early investor and board member at Robot.com,” he says. “Today, its value has a 50x markup, and we’re going IPO on Nasdaq in a couple of months!”
The secret to Espinoza’s success: Servant leadership
For Espinoza, investment opportunities, board memberships, awards, and honors are mere byproducts of a life dedicated to his passion for helping others.
“Embracing servant leadership has helped me grow as an entrepreneur,” he says. “Embracing social impact has helped me become a more well-rounded leader. It’s about prioritizing relationships and being authentic, vulnerable, and genuine.”
