We had the amazing opportunity to visit the company Intercorp in Peru. We started our day by visiting Interbank, which is where the company started. We got a good overview of what Intercorp does, and had a presentation about their past, present and future. We also had the chance to ask questions, and visit a museum to get a good feel for the company. I was surprised to learn about how many industries Intercorp is part of. The company is focused on making Peru a safe and fun place to have a family, so they cover health, education, entertainment, retail, and much more. It was fun to see how one company can have an influence in so many different areas of life.
After visiting Interbank, we went to a school that was part of Intercorp, and got another presentation and tour. There were no students in the school because they were on break, but we did see teachers working when we walked through. The schools are very focused on teamwork and collaboration, which was reflected in the way they laid out their classrooms and common areas. The layout of the school felt similar to many I have seen in the US, but it was fun to hear the reasoning behind many of the choices made by leaders of the school.
Afterwards, we had lunch at one of Intercorp’s restaurant properties, then toured some of their retail companies in a large mall in the city. Everywhere we went was busy, and the leaders we talked with were very happy about the profits they were making, and the employment opportunities they were able to offer to citizens. Many of the brands were large, and there were even some American companies that were part of Intercorp (for example, Papa Johns), as well as popular brands in Peru that we don’t have in the US.
We ended the day with a tour of a hospital clinic, that was focused on providing quality healthcare to families at a reasonable price. The clinic had an emergency room, as well as areas for regular checkups, x-rays and other testing, physical therapy, and a pediatric wing. We got to talk directly to the medical director and learn how the clinic operates on a daily basis, and how they work to distinguish themselves from public and private hospitals in the area.
Overall, this day was very fun, and I learned a lot about business structure and the Peruvian economy. It was especially interesting to see how even though this company was so big and broad, they had a clearly defined mission, and gave lots of autonomy to the companies they owned. With such big aspirations for the future, it will be interesting to see how this company continues to develop.