Our Entrepreneurs

Company Snapshot

Mr. Mendiwelson is Chief Executive Officer of Refinancia, a company he founded in 2005. Refinancia purchases and services consumer and mortgage non-performing-loans (NPLs). With over 600 direct employees in Colombia, Peru and Mexico, Refinancia manages more than 1,200,000 clients, with investments of US$150 million and total acquired face value of over US$2.5 billion. For his innovative business model, Kenneth was selected Endeavor Entrepreneur in 2008 by Endeavor Global.

Mr. Mendiwelson began his career as a Special Project Analyst in Lloyd’s Bank in Bogota, where he evaluated the financial feasibility of Colombian companies undergoing debt-restructuring. Prior to that, as an intern in Aberdeen, he was in charge of consolidating partnerships between oil companies in Colombia and Scotland.

His next posts included two years as an executive in the New Business Development Group at Fidelity Investments in Boston. Later, from 2002 to 2004, he became a Consultant at McKinsey & Company in Bogota, providing leadership in the execution of consulting studies on strategic decision-making for senior management, specialized in the financial and banking industry. Prior to founding Refinancia, Mr. Mendiwelson was the Chief Executive Officer of a company dedicated to managing consumer NPLs in Colombia.

A Harvard Business School graduate, Mr. Mendiwelson holds a degree in Business Administration from Los Andes University, with a specialization in Colombian financial legislation. Currently, he supports Endeavor Global in its aim to formalize high impact entrepreneurship in Colombia. He is an advisor and board member of Mercantil Colpatria S.A., a major Colombian business conglomerate, involved in banking, insurance, fund management, health services, construction, mining, and energy.

Endeavor and Refinancia

Endeavor has helped the company build a strong management team, and a human resources and talent recruitment entity. Through the involvement of eMBAs, Refinancia developed a strong strategic growth plan and an analytics department.