Florian Alvarez

University of Oxford, Saïd Business School

“Hard-working, curious, ambitious and photography-loving islander striving to create impact.”

Hometown: Port-au-Prince, Haïti

Fun Fact About Yourself: Having lived my whole life in a tropical country, I have actually never seen snow.

Undergraduate School and Major: Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Technologie (ENST), Business Management

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Banj, Director of Banj Labs

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far:

A few years ago, when I joined the team of the startup Banj, I had no idea that the adventure would be such a rollercoaster. Driven by a common vision to build an entrepreneurship ecosystem – coupled with unwavering determination and unconventional strategies – we created the biggest entrepreneurship hub of Haiti.

At Banj, I designed and managed the country’s first technology incubator and accelerator. Pioneering such an initiative proved to be more complicated than expected, especially since most of the actors in the ecosystem (entrepreneurs, investors, etc.) either needed to be educated or convinced. In partnership with Google Launchpad, I led a pre-acceleration program that served as a prototype for the concept. This program helped achieve some key goals including building a pipeline of startups and creating a mentor network with over 40 high-profile local and diaspora executives and entrepreneurs. Our first incubation and acceleration programs launched in early 2019 with five startups in a variety of sectors including fintech and healthtech.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? What stands out to me is their determination to help each other. Every day, I see examples of this, ranging from support sessions for exams and job interviews or just contribute to a classmate’s raffle who’s raising funds for an upcoming baby. The establishment of such a supportive community after just a couple of months of having met each other makes our MBA experience much more unique.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of the MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? One of the core aspects of Saïd Business School’s MBA that influence my choice was its focus on entrepreneurship and social impact and being able to access many extracurricular programs running along the MBA. Due to my interest in entrepreneurship, I joined the Ideation Lab to further foster my entrepreneurial mindset by engaging with the process of ideation. It also prepared me for the Entrepreneurship Project part of the core curriculum. I also recently joined the Lead for Impact program ran by the Skoll Center for Social Entrepreneurship, which will help me step up as a leader with a commitment to social or environmental impact.

What is the most “Oxford” thing you have done so far as a full-time MBA student? Even before knowing I would go to Oxford, I would go on YouTube to watch some of the amazing debates and guest speakers who came to the Oxford Union. As soon as the MBA started, I made it a priority to get my membership and finally attend these debates and talks live. So far, I’ve been to two debates and four talks at the Union with speakers like Calvin Klein, Bob Iger, and Theresa May.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? I cannot say that there was one single moment or event that shaped me into who I am today. Several things contributed to that. First, I have a supportive family from whom I learned values such as honesty, determination, and altruism. Second, my faith in God helped me go through some hard moments and that gives me a different perspective in certain situations. Third, my involvement for over a decade in social activities helped me develop empathy and understand the value of giving back to make a difference in people’s lives. Fourth, I learned photography, which helped unlock my creativity and became my escape. Fifth, my friends helped me grow and never failed to support me. Finally, I have previous bosses who taught me how to become a better professional and how to be more rigorous in my work.

Where do you see yourself doing ten years from now? In 10 years, I see myself as an influential and transformative business and social leader in Haiti. I believe that all of my experiences and the entire network that I have built nationally and internationally as a Chevening scholar and an SBS alum will be instrumental to help me do so.