The Next 25 Podast

🎙️ Jorge Correa, founder of EatCloud, a digital platform fighting food waste and hunger across Latin America, joined Peter Kovacz from the Vienna Institute for Global Studies (VIGS) for a compelling conversation about how technology can transform one of humanity's most urgent paradoxes: millions going hungry while tons of perfectly good food are thrown away every day. Together they explore how data-driven solutions are connecting surplus food with vulnerable communities, why exponential technologies offer hope for eradicating hunger, and what it takes to build a scalable social impact company in the food industry.
From his early days automating commercial processes...

🎙️ Dr. Le Hong Hiep, Senior Fellow and Coordinator of the Vietnam Studies Program at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore and editor of the journal Contemporary Southeast Asia, joined Eleonora Neri, International Relations Specialist at the Vienna Institute for Global Studies (VIGS), for a compelling conversation about how Southeast Asia is navigating the intensifying strategic rivalry between the United States and China. Together they explore the regional dilemma of balancing between two great powers, the transformation of supply chains and tech competition, and Vietnam's delicate positioning in an era where neutrality is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain.

From the...

🎙️ Daniel Ospina, founder of Pygma, a fintech accelerator based in Bogotá, Colombia, joined Peter Kovacz from the Vienna Institute for Global Studies (VIGS) for an engaging conversation about why Latin America is emerging as the next major frontier for fintech innovation. Together they explore the region's unique opportunities, the evolving startup ecosystem across Latin America, and how strategic support at the pre-seed stage can unlock transformative growth for founders building the future of financial technology.

From his early days at Endeavor to launching a micro fund and eventually founding Pygma—named after the Pygmalion effect, where high expectations drive high...

🎙️ Flo Mosoane, founder of Easy Chicken Club in South Africa, joined Prof. Dr. Zoltán Ács, Director of the Vienna Institute for Global Studies (VIGS), for a conversation on the transformative potential of small-scale agriculture in Africa. Together they explore how technology, strategic infrastructure, and localized supply chains can unlock economic opportunity for millions while addressing food security challenges across the continent.

South Africa presents a paradox: a country of two agricultures. On one side, sophisticated commercial farming operations compete globally in blueberries, macadamia nuts, and other high-value crops. On the other, millions of small-scale farmers operate informally, locked out...