A shared purpose drives the MIT LIFT Lab community: Our mission of service to develop a better world. 

The MIT LIFT Lab Research Team (i.e., director, project manager, postdoctoral researchers, Ph.D. students, master students) plans, designs, and executes high-impact research projects.

Our initiative contributes to the survival and growth of Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs), specifically by improving their supply chain management (SCM) capabilities. MSEs are the primary focus of our work because they represent most of the firms in Latin America, representing the primary source of income for millions of families. Each year, hundreds of MSEs take part in the project, providing reliable data and information on their process and operations, allowing us to help them through the analysis of their performance to provide recommendations and make interventions.

To have a more significant impact in Latin America, we have strengthened our collaboration with partner universities. Our collaboration includes connections with faculty, International Research Collaborators, and students from 20+ universities in 10 countries in Latin America (Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, Bolivia, and Argentina). They are responsible for the primary data collection process and preliminary analysis in the field to provide actionable recommendations to the MSEs.

In addition, each year, we select outstanding students from our partner universities who have demonstrated passion and commitment to the project to become Visiting Students and conduct research at MIT.