Photo by Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer

Santiago Ocejo (MPH 2010/MBA 2014) wants to improve health care in Mexico. He always thought he would do that, one patient at a time, as a surgeon. But, today, the medical school graduate is a social entrepreneur, working with the Mexican government to create an app to provide better prenatal care to 2.5 million women across the country and launching his own startup, Salud Cercana (Health Near You), to address the issue of heart disease in low-income Mexico communities.

One of only a few Mexican physicians with an MBA, Ocejo, 31, first saw the opportunity to apply business practices to health care while pursuing a master’s at the Harvard School of Public Health. That experience inspired him to enroll at HBS. “It was all made possible by the support of the Fundación México en Harvard” Ocejo says. The group provided the funds that allowed Ocejo to continue his studies—and graduate without the significant debt that might have hindered his social entrepreneurship goals.

The idea for the Fundación México en Harvard was born in 1989 after a small group of Mexican HBS graduates learned a single, dramatic statistic: half of the Mexican students who were admitted to Harvard’s graduate programs did not ultimately enroll. The group investigated further and found the reason was not that these students were attending other schools, but rather for lack of money.

This group of Mexican alumni responded quickly to that financial need and the Fundación—which marked its 25th anniversary this fall with a celebration in Mexico City, with University President Drew Faust in attendance—was founded that same year to support Mexican students accepted to the University’s graduate and postgraduate programs. To date, the organization has provided financial support—from 25 percent of costs for most programs, to full scholarships for all doctoral programs—to more than 500 students, including 45 HBS students. This year, the Fundación is providing funding to 60 graduate students across the University.

“We are investing in education, we’re investing in Mexicans, and we’re investing in Mexico,” says Felipe Ortiz-Monasterio (MBA 1977), who was among the founders of the nongovernmental organization and is currently chair of its finance committee. With that straightforward pitch, the upstart Fundación raised money quickly. An initial $1 million was raised, with half of that amount coming from Harvard alumni living in Mexico and elsewhere and the other half from corporate donations, mainly from Mexican companies. Harvard provided matching funds to the first $1 million, as part of an initiative to strengthen its international ties. Then, in 1991, the Mexican government supported the Fundación with a first-of-its-kind transaction, allowing to purchase Mexican bonds in the market below face value and then redeem the bonds immediately at face value. The transaction almost doubled the $2.6 million endowment the Fundación had raised by that time. Over the last quarter century, the Fundación, which is rated number one among all Mexican NGOs for efficiency by philanthropic watchdog Filantrofilia, has distributed $11.7 million in grants and loans.

The selection criteria are simple: Mexican students accepted to a graduate or postgraduate program at Harvard and who exhibit financial need and commit to return to Mexico after completing their education, receive grants or loans, depending on the individual’s future earning potential. In its 25 years, the Fundación has not denied support to a qualified applicant, and no Mexican student has declined an offer from Harvard for lack of financial resources.

In its early days, the Fundación funded mainly MBA students, and over its 25-year history, under the stewardship of its three chairmen—Antonio Madero (MBA 1961), Alfredo Elias (MBA 1975), and Enrique Tellez (MBA 1991)—it has widened its reach. Today it provides support to students engaged in graduate and postgraduate work within all of the University’s schools, with about 40 percent of funds disbursed to students enrolled in science programs. The Fundación also funds a full scholarship in memory of late board member Dr. Roberto Kretschmer, awarded annually to a Mexican student pursuing a degree in public health. In addition, the organization operates outreach and ambassador programs to promote Harvard University throughout Mexico.

Ocejo is among those who spread the word about Harvard and the support available, recruiting students to apply to the University. “As an beneficiary of the Fundación, it is important for me to give something back to the Fundación and to Mexico,” Ocejo says, citing both the mentoring and financial sustenance the organization offered him.

“Today, we can proudly say that no one who is accepted and wants to attend Harvard stays in Mexico for financial reasons,” says Ortiz-Monasterio. “To put it in Hollywood terms, one could say this is a happy ending. But it is not an ending. We’re just through our first 25 years!”

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