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Maria del Pilar Mejia Velez is a PhD researcher specializing in Circular Business Models at VITO since February 2024, focusing on collaborations between startups and stakeholders for circular economy implementation. Since April 2012, Maria has served as a board member and entrepreneurship and sustainability mentor at Estratek Ventures, co-leading corporate entrepreneurship initiatives in LATAM and providing strategic guidance to startup teams on sustainability. Maria co-founded a startup model integrating Lean Startup, Design Thinking, and Agile methodologies, and previously held leadership roles in Circular Economy at Andercol, where efforts concentrated on recycling plastic waste. With a strong academic background in sustainable development and innovation management, Maria is currently pursuing a PhD at Utrecht University.