My grandparents were the first generation of entrepreneurs in our family. They ran a small spare parts store called ¨Casa Irismar¨, located on Pettirossi Street in ¨Mercado 4¨, Asunción’s most vibrant and iconic market, where thousands of vendors create a lively hub of informal commerce, culture, and community. I still remember walking those narrow sidewalks as little kid, sidewalks transformed into busy corridors by vendors selling CDs, food, and just about anything you could imagine. As the grandson of Juan Antonio and Nilda from Casa Irismar, I was welcomed with smiles and affection. It was more than a market; it was a community.
As time went on, economic hardships forced Casa Irismar to close its doors. My grandparents eventually left this world, but Mercado 4 never left my heart. It remains a living, breathing organ in Asunción’s urban context, a space where entrepreneurship is as much about kinship as it is about commerce. It’s no coincidence that Paraguay’s most internationally acclaimed film, 7 Cajas, is set in the very streets of Mercado 4, a clear example of the cultural heritage this place represents for Asunción and the country as a whole. Many Paraguayan families trace their roots back to market vendors, and this year, Mercado 4 celebrates 83 years of history.
Years later, entrepreneurship in my family would take a generational leap when I co-founded UpGreen Living Walls, a sustainable business dedicated to designing and building natural vertical gardens in Paraguay. Our mission is to help redefine how people integrate nature into their lives while contributing to climate change mitigation.
At first, I never really asked myself whether I had inherited my grandparents’ entrepreneurial spirit. But as I reflect on their story, I’m continually struck by how they managed to support a family of five, and their employees, through the work of a small stall in a crowded market. That kind of quiet heroism, surviving and generating employment through sheer will, is a defining trait of so many Paraguayan entrepreneurs. It reminds me just how privileged I am to build a business in the field of sustainability and innovation. From a macroeconomic perspective, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) form the backbone of Paraguay’s economy. They represent more than 98% of the business landscape and generate around 75% of employment.
Yet, from an ecological standpoint, the picture is far more complicated. According to the Green Future Index, Paraguay ranks 75th out of 76, classified as a “climate abstainer”, due to limited progress toward a clean, modern economy.
So, what do these statistics really tell us? Those international rankings often overlook local complexity. Yes, Paraguay may lag in official decarbonization strategies, but at the same time, its entrepreneurs, many of them informal, are holding the economy together. They are creating jobs, sustaining families, and crafting solutions to daily problems with little outside support. That, too, is impact, though it may not fit neatly into the global metrics.
As an impact entrepreneur focused on sustainability, I consider it a privilege to represent Paraguay in international forums and projects advancing the green transition. Yet I also carry a deeper responsibility: to amplify the voices of the entrepreneurial ecosystem back home. These are people solving their challenges not because sustainability is trendy, but because necessity has always been their greatest teacher.
In Paraguay, the journey toward sustainability is far from linear. It’s not always about high-tech solutions or internationally certified standards. It’s about rethinking and rematerializing how we produce, work, and live, slowly moving toward a business model where people, planet, and profit can find balance. In a country with low institutional capacity, this challenge becomes a rare opportunity to define our own rules and begin addressing climate change at every level: political, social, and technical.
Because in Paraguay, being an entrepreneur often means putting food on the table from day one. And in that reality, sustainability cannot be a privilege, it must be a pathway that includes everyone.
That’s why I’m proud of the new generation of impact entrepreneurs in Paraguay who are building green businesses, reducing environmental footprints, and putting our country on the international map through climate-conscious innovation. But for me, rooted in my family’s story, it’s just as important to shine a light on the entrepreneurial communities of Mercado 4. These are people for whom success has never been about individual gain, but about growing with others and lifting each other up.
That, too, is impact.
And that, too, deserves a place on the map.
Written by José Gabriel Benitez, EMMIE Scholar from Cohort 3
