Maria Cabrera Gonzales

Ecuadorian social entrepreneur empowering Indigenous women through digital literacy

Maria Cabrera Gonzales is a Quechua activist and tech innovator from Ecuador whose Digital Andes Project has transformed Indigenous women's economic participation. Launching in 2021, her initiative provides mobile app training to rural communities, enabling over 8,000 women to sell artisan products online through the AndesMarket platform. By 2023, this network generated $2.5M in direct income for Indigenous families while preserving traditional weaving techniques. Gonzales developed the AndesEdTech Toolkit, an open-source educational platform translated into 12 Indigenous languages, reaching 50,000 students annually. Her collaboration with MIT Media Lab produced solar-powered e-readers for literacy programs in remote regions. The documentary "Code of the Andes" highlights her work, winning Best Social Impact Film at the 2024 Quito Film Festival. Gonzales' advocacy led to Ecuador's 2022 Digital Inclusion Act, mandating Indigenous language support in all government tech services. She now advises UNESCO's Indigenous Knowledge Preservation Program, making her a pivotal figure in Latin America's digital equity movement.