In today’s rapidly evolving startup ecosystems, particularly in emerging economies, the intersection of cultural adaptability and digital innovation has become a defining factor in entrepreneurial success.
Regions like Latin America exemplify this dynamic where economic volatility collides with new waves of digital opportunity, creating both challenges and openings for bold founders.
It is within this landscape that one entrepreneur’s story emerges, illustrating how global education and cross-border experiences can shape strategies for scaling technology-driven ventures.
“I’ve learned that innovation isn’t just about building tech, it’s about understanding the cultural and economic realities that shape how people use it,” says Benjamín Pérez, a sought-after and global-minded entrepreneur whose path stretches from roadside sales in Chile to co-founding Wasabil, a fintech SaaS transforming eCommerce tax automation.
Before founding Wasabil, Benjamín played a transformative role at Copec’s Wind Garage, the innovation arm of one of Latin America’s largest energy companies. He spearheaded the digital growth strategies behind flagship ventures such as Copec Voltex (electric vehicle e-commerce) and Copec Flux (renewable energy solutions), laying the foundation for Copec Garage’s ambitious target of USD 30 million in sales by 2030. His ability to merge corporate strategy with startup-style execution positioned him as a driving force for Copec’s long-term transition toward sustainability and digital innovation.
Benjamín’s path has never been a straight line; it has been a deliberate crossing of borders, industries, and mindsets. Born in Chile, he learned the basics of commerce not in classrooms but on the roadside, selling watermelons: “That may seem small, but for me, it was the beginning of understanding how markets work, spotting opportunities, engaging customers, and doing more with less. That same mindset still drives how I scale ventures today.” Benjamin reflects.
Benjamin’s global education journey began at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration and later taught digital marketing. There, he honed his mastery of SEO and analytics in a region where traditional advertising often drains young startups before they can scale. His academic path soon stretched beyond borders to the University of Nanjing, supported by dual scholarships from the Chinese Government and Santander Bank. Immersed in the epicenter of China’s eCommerce revolution at the very moment Alibaba and mobile payments were rewriting consumer behavior, he witnessed how technology could leapfrog decades of infrastructure gaps.
Benjamín embodies how global education equips leaders with cultural fluency and strategic foresight. His career shows that bridging markets requires translating global digital models into locally viable solutions, whether scaling fintech in LatAm, digitizing legacy industries, or fostering financial inclusion.
“China showed me tech’s power to leapfrog infrastructure,” Benjamin says, a lesson he would later channel into tackling Latin America’s financial inclusion challenges and reshaping how millions of unbanked citizens engage with digital commerce.
This global lens became the cornerstone of Benjamin’s entrepreneurial strategies, blending scrappy resourcefulness with forward-looking innovation. In 2014, he co-founded The Qualis, a menswear eCommerce platform that defied the odds of Chile’s then-nascent digital retail scene.
What began as a lean operation soon scaled to $2M+ in revenue by 2024, propelled not by heavy ad spending but by creative, cost-efficient tactics: hyper-targeted Instagram campaigns, AI-driven product recommendations, and even the early use of blockchain to inject transparency into supply chains, a bold move years ahead of industry adoption.
Beyond startups, Benjamin proved his playbook could scale inside legacy institutions. At BCI Bank, he helped transform Mach App from a promising product into a household name, doubling its users to 1 million through viral, culturally resonant campaigns. In a region where nearly half the population remains unbanked, this growth was more than just a corporate success; it demonstrated how digital innovation can drive real financial inclusion, bridging gaps that traditional banking models had long ignored.
According to Leonardo Ljubetic, Corporate Development Manager at Copec, who collaborated with Benjamin from late 2019 through 2024, Benjamin’s rare blend of startup agility, digital fluency, and commercial acumen was ‘foundational’ to Copec’s pivot into clean energy. Ljubetic emphasized that Benjamin’s ability to create go-to-market strategies from scratch, where no playbook existed, was a cornerstone of Copec’s innovation success, bridging the gap between traditional industries and the digital future of Latin America.
Leonardo also shares: “In all my years at Copec, I have rarely encountered someone with Benjamín’s unique profile. He combines the agility of a startup founder with the strategic vision of a corporate leader and the technical mastery of a digital innovator. I watched him not only design high-level strategies that reshaped our clean energy initiatives, but also dive into the details to ensure flawless execution. That rare blend made him indispensable in bridging the divide between our legacy business and the digital-first future of energy in Latin America.”
Benjamin’s tech-driven vision finds its fullest expression in Wasabil, the fintech SaaS he launched in 2024 to tackle one of Latin America’s thorniest bottlenecks: eCommerce tax compliance. Backed with $225K in seed capital from Platanus Ventures and StartUp Chile, the platform harnesses AI and robotic process automation (RPA) to streamline invoicing and regulatory reporting—tasks that often suffocate growth for online sellers. The results are already tangible: one major fintech client now saves over $150K annually in operational costs by automating workflows through Wasabil.
Within a year, the company has attracted over 300 paying subscribers, generating $ 120,000 in annual recurring revenue (ARR), which underscores both product-market fit and market demand. Yet Benjamin’s ambitions extend beyond LatAm. With Chile’s advanced IRS digitization serving as a launchpad, he is laying the groundwork for U.S. expansion, positioning Wasabil as the connective tissue between global eCommerce platforms and increasingly complex tax regimes.
Leonardo notes that Benjamin played a critical role in shaping and executing the go-to-market strategy for Copec’s most ambitious innovation projects, including electric mobility and renewable energy. His contributions were not just important; they were pivotal to the company’s long-term transformation.
Patricio Castro, Benjamin’s former colleague at BCI, recalls: “When I worked with Benjamin, I witnessed firsthand how he fearlessly challenged legacy systems and accelerated our push toward digital innovation. He was far more than a marketing manager; he was an instrument for transformation, modernizing the way the bank engaged with millions of customers. His vision and execution didn’t just improve processes; they fundamentally reshaped how we understood growth, personalization, and the future of customer engagement.
Patricio also shares: “What struck me most about Benjamin was his rare ability to bridge worlds: technology, marketing, and strategy. He combined technical fluency with an entrepreneurial mindset, allowing him to connect teams, solve complex problems, and drive lasting impact. Leaders like him don’t just deliver results, they set the foundation for future innovation.”
Benjamin’s strategy stands out also because it was forged in the high-stakes arena of emerging markets: validating ideas with insiders before launch, turning real-time data into a rapid-fire engine of iteration, and mobilizing lean, global teams that scale with unmatched agility.
Cultural fluency remains central to Benjamin’s approach to scaling. His command of Mandarin opened supplier partnerships during The Qualis era, while the entrepreneurial rigor of Babson’s Executive MBA now sharpens Wasabil’s global ambitions. His influence extends beyond startups: in 2017, he addressed 300+ business leaders at ICARE, where his insights on low-budget growth hacks positioned him as a thought leader redefining innovation in resource-constrained markets: “Learning Mandarin wasn’t just about language, it was about building cultural empathy. Later, it became invaluable in negotiations and cross-border ventures. To scale in emerging markets, you need both cultural fluency and technical innovation,” says Benjamin.”
Benjamín’s ventures have attracted prestigious recognition from winning the Best Mid-Size eCommerce Award (2019) and Shopify’s “100k Orders Milestone” with The Qualis, to securing backing from Startup Chile and Platanus Ventures, the “Y-Combinator of LatAm.” These milestones not only underscore his entrepreneurial impact but also cement his reputation as a leader shaping the future of digital innovation in emerging markets.
Yet what truly sets him apart is the humanity behind the strategy. As a father raising a child with special needs, Benjamin builds family-first teams that strike a balance between empathy and high-performance innovation, demonstrating that compassion and competitiveness can coexist in venture building. Benjamin shares: “Raising a child with special needs has been one of my greatest teachers. It built my patience and adaptability, the same qualities I carry into leadership, where uncertainty is constant and resilience is everything.” That resilience becomes the cornerstone for scaling innovation and creating lasting impact.
“Benjamin’s contributions went far beyond short-term wins. He laid the groundwork for the next generation of digital growth at BCI, and I am convinced his presence in any market whether Chile, the U.S., or beyond, will create transformative results. He is exactly the kind of leader who pushes industries forward.” Patricio shares.
Today, his vision of unifying Latin America’s $100 billion e-commerce market through technology places him firmly at the forefront of the region’s digital transformation. Navigating currency swings, regulatory complexity, and fragmented infrastructures, he demonstrates that bridging cultures and markets is more than a business strategy; it is a transformative path for societal change.
“Looking back on our years working together, I can confidently say that Benjamín was not only a key contributor, he was the driving force that transformed Copec’s dream into reality, setting a new benchmark for energy innovation in Latin America,” Leonardo adds.
For emerging economies, Benjamin is more than just a founder; he is the blueprint for digital-first, globally fluent entrepreneurship, showing how resilience, cultural agility, and innovation can transform volatility into opportunity.
For Benjamin, digital innovation is ultimately about inclusion: “Technology is about efficiency and inclusion. From digital wallets to eCommerce platforms, I’ve seen firsthand how the right tools can bring millions into the formal economy. That’s the true power of digital innovation in emerging economies,” he says.
