Shakira, Amazon, and Laboratoria team up to reach one million Latin American women with AI skills

When Colombian singer Shakira livestreamed her October 3, 2026, concert to fans around the world exclusively on Amazon Music and Prime Video, it was the final show of her ES Latina European Residency in Madrid, part of her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran world tour.

Alongside the exciting live performance came a longer-term commitment to reach one million Latin American women with AI and cloud skilling opportunities by 2028.

AWS Entrena Latinas is a collaboration between Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon Music, Shakira’s nonprofit Fundación Pies Descalzos, and the women-in-tech nonprofit Laboratoria. The program provides women with free AI and cloud skills training taught entirely in Spanish.

Across Latin America, women hold roughly one in four technology jobs, according to a survey conducted by McKinsey and Laboratoria. As AI and emerging technologies continue to reshape industries and create new roles, that ratio may narrow as women gain the skills they need, or widen as jobs concentrate in the very disciplines where women are most underrepresented.

Starting in Colombia, mothers and students connected to Shakira’s Fundación Pies Descalzos will be able to take foundational skills courses and pursue AWS Certifications through AWS Entrena Latinas, helping them prepare for new career opportunities in technology.

The skills gap in Latin America

Demand for jobs requiring specialized AI skills has been growing 3.5 times faster than the average for all jobs since 2016, according to PwC, and represents a wage premium of up to 25 percent—a tremendous opportunity for the region.

Yet, women’s participation in the technology sector remains limited across Latin America. Following the launch of the broader AWS Entrena LATAM program, which has reached more than 450,000 learners already in 2026, we found that approximately 30 percent of those enrolled were women, underscoring the need for more intentional action to close the opportunity gap.

“Every industry is looking for AI-ready talent, and AI literacy is becoming essential to meet that demand,” said Paula Belizia, AWS VP for Latin America. “That’s why we partnered with Amazon Music, Shakira’s Fundación Pies Descalzos, and Laboratoria to launch AWS Entrena Latinas. This creates a real opportunity for women to take center stage. Because when women have access to AI skills, they don’t just prepare for the jobs of tomorrow. They help shape the future of Latin America.”

Four organizations, one pipeline

AWS Entrena Latinas works because each collaborator owns a different stage of the pipeline: community, access, training, and employment.

Amazon Music delivers the audience.

Built around three pillars—culture, community, and commerce—Amazon Music partnered with Shakira on the “Women Shaping Latin Music” campaign which brought the global superstar’s historic Madrid residency to audiences around the world through exclusive music and content, storytelling, live performances, immersive fan experiences, physical music, and merchandise. Together, these efforts transformed a major live music event into a broader celebration of women’s cultural influence, entrepreneurship, and economic opportunities.

Fundación Pies Descalzos brings the educational expertise.

Founded by Shakira in 1997, the nonprofit operates 27 educational spaces and 15 active projects across Colombia. It has supported more than 1.5 million families through education, nutrition, and community development. Its network of mothers and students forms the AWS Entrena Latinas program’s first cohort.

“We are convinced education has the power to open doors and transform the possibilities available to individuals, families, and communities,” said Patricia Sierra, CEO of Fundación Pies Descalzos. “This partnership allows us to turn the reach and influence of this moment into tangible opportunities for more women to learn, create, and build both their present and future they envision.”

Laboratoria bridges training and careers.

Since 2014, Laboratoria has trained more than 14,000 women across 11 countries in Latin America, combining digital and social emotional skills with employability coaching, mentorship, and community-based learning. The model is built to move women from coursework into jobs.

“At Laboratoria, we believe Latin American women belong at the center of this new era,” said Gabriela Rocha, co-founder and CEO of Laboratoria. “For over a decade, we’ve seen how access to technology and education can change the course of a woman’s life, and with it, an entire region. This partnership turns this extraordinary cultural moment into a meaningful opportunity for the women who will build Latin America’s future.”

AWS provides the training curriculum and cloud infrastructure.

Through AWS Entrena Latinas, learners take foundational AI and cloud courses that lead to AWS Certifications, which are industry-recognized credentials that signal AI and cloud readiness to employers. The cohort in Colombia will start with mothers and students who are connected to Shakira’s Fundación Pies Descalzos and then expand access across Latin America as it scales towards the goal of one million women reached with AI skills by 2028.

How it works

AWS Entrena Latinas delivers on-demand AI and cloud computing training entirely in Spanish, at no cost to learners. This lowers barriers that often keep women in Latin America out of technical learning pathways and new career opportunities.

AWS Entrena Latinas currently offers the IA para Tod@s (“AI for All”) course covering AI fundamentals and immersive experiences where women learn to build their own agents inside Amazon Quick Desktop. The program will soon introduce three additional learning channels: podcast-style live sessions featuring women from AWS, Amazon Music, and STEM careers; lab sessions by Laboratoria; and dedicated office hours to support learners throughout their journey.

AWS Entrena Latinas is open to women across all of Latin America, and the Spanish-language version is already live, with a Brazilian Portuguese version in development.

The first learners in Colombia are already sharing what the program has meant to them. “I’m so happy to share that I’ve completed the AWS Entrena Latinas training, an amazing program powered by AWS, Amazon Music, Laboratoria, and Fundación Pies Descalzos,” said Bibiana Sepúlveda from Colombia. “It’s so inspiring to see initiatives focused on closing the gender gap and bringing AI into our everyday lives. A huge thank you to the organizations that make this possible and create spaces like this for women in Latin America. Now it’s time to keep applying what I’ve learned and keep building!”

In 2027, the program will introduce a new course at the intersection of technology and music, while continuing to collaborate with private and public organizations to expand the reach to more Latin American women. The team is also working with AWS Academy to enable higher education instructors across the region at scale, with Spanish-language curriculum currently in production. Get started today at latinas.awsentrena.com.

This post is by Nicole Parafita, Business Strategy and Growth, AWS; Danielle Reis, Program Manager, AWS; and Jose Gordon, Director, AWS Skilling and Social Impact