The Dominican Innovation Power List 2025

The Stealth Architects, the Uninvited Builders, and the Future You Can’t Ignore.

By Jonathan Joel Mentor | @jonathanjmentor 

Intro: Who’s Really Powering the Shift?

This is not who sat on a panel. This is who built something while the panel talked.  These names weren’t chosen to flatter. They were chosen because they move things.

This is a portrait of raw, catalytic influence.  People who accelerate the Dominican Republic’s innovation economy, beyond the usual boards, photo-ops, and conference circuits.

ANJE?  Legacy lunch clubs?  You won’t find them here.

Private Sector Innovators

• Felipe Vicini, Managing Partner at INICIA, quietly fueling sustainability and founders with strategic capital and mentorship.
• Milka Santana Gálvez, founder of Perfecto Labs bridging Dominican technical talent with international opportunity and revenue strategy.
• Jonathan Joel Mentor, Successment,  revenue strategist pushing recurring-revenue culture and mobilizing the Dominican innovation community.
• Cristian Pichardo, Co-founder and CEO of MIO, a Dominican fintech platform building financial access infrastructure for underserved Dominicans.
• Eugene A. Rault Grullón. EVP at Popular Digital Services, leading digital transformation across Banco Popular and platforms like Azul and Avanza. A quiet architect of fintech modernization, bringing institutional infrastructure closer to innovation velocity.

Public Sector Champions

• Biviana Riveiro, Executive Director of ProDominicana, repositioning the Dominican Republic as an innovation exporter through investment diplomacy, startup alignment, and institutional visibility. A rare example of public leadership that understands narrative power and policy leverage.
• Armando Tejeda, Director of Innovation at MICM, bridging grassroots entrepreneurship with national economic planning.
• Cairo Arévalo,  Leads Innovation & Special Projects at Promipyme, builds connective tissue between the Dominican government, fintech, and mobility sectors, quietly brokering capital, partnerships, and public-private alignment for scalable innovation.
• Carolina Mejía, Mayor of Santo Domingo, is driving digital inclusion, civic tech adoption, and public-private partnerships with the capital’s startup and sustainability community.
• David Collado, Minister of Tourism, building tech-forward visitor infrastructure and supporting digital nomad alignment with national strategy. Blends business acumen with cross-sector ecosystem support.

Education & Ecosystem Builders

• Madelin Martinez, Director of CIDE at UNIBE, is leading innovation and entrepreneurship education with global relevance.
• Heidi Sanchez, INTEC is building the next generation of Dominican entrepreneurs through campus-wide innovation initiatives.
• Wilfredo de León, Program Manager at CREE Banreservas, executes pre-acceleration cohorts that connect Dominican entrepreneurs to capital and public-private visibility.
• Yaque Pujals, President of CIE PUCMM, fusing Jesuit values with entrepreneurship support and serving as a gateway for student ventures across the DR and beyond.
• José Armando Tavárez  Former president of Cámara TIC and current CEO of Talendig, a Dominican talent acceleration firm focused on tech, digital transformation, and human capital development.

Media & Narrative Shapers

• Monika Harel, Publisher of Dominican Today, the strongest global voice lifting DR startups and nomads into mainstream.
• Patricia De Moya, Senior Editor at Revista Mercado is integrating entrepreneurship and innovation into economic narratives.
• Jaime Rincón, Producer, El Nuevo Diario fusing media, youth empowerment, and visibility for Dominican entrepreneurial voices. A narrative amplifier rooted in grassroots credibility.

Narrative Builders & Public Catalysts

• Abroad with Jay, using YouTube to demystify Dominican relocation and entrepreneurship for a global audience.
• Norberis Ramirez spotlighting Dominican women in tech and innovation on social platforms.
• Jaime Gruber, Diaspora VC & ecosystem amplifier — making strategic connections between US investors and Dominican founders.
• Jonah Gomez, content creator and advocate for tech adoption and local digital fluency.

Why This List Matters

You won’t find curated panels or echo chamber gatekeepers here,  intentionally. This is not about prestige, heritage, or lunch club affiliations. This is about power aligned with progress, with real-world, measurable impact:

• Finance: structuring capital, launching ecosystems
• Public policy: not talk, but actual market-building
• Education: turning students into founders
• Infrastructure: creating physical and narrative platforms
• Media: amplifying innovation beyond bricks and boardrooms
• Influencers: shaping perception, access, and ambition

Choose Your Side

Power in the Dominican Republic is shifting — from who you know to what you build. If you’re reading this, you’re either already part of the shift, or you’re not. Yet.

To private capital, diaspora investors, and ecosystem leaders, these are the people you want to be positioned next to.

To legacy institutions, step off the stage or start showing up. Because power is no longer given. It’s earned through impact.

Someone missing? Someone doesn’t belong?  I welcome your receipts: jonathan@successment.co.

——————————————————————–
Jonathan Joel Mentor is the CEO of Successment and architect of the Provoke Visibility™ campaign, scaling startups and challenging institutions to evolve. UN World Summit Award nominee. www.jonathanjmentor.co