EmpoderaData built upon the success of the “Quantitative Step” (Q-Step) program, which was developed as a strategic response to the shortage of quantitatively-skilled social science graduates in the United Kingdom. Together, University of Manchester and Data-Pop Alliance expanded upon the program’s excellent results, exploring this model in the Global South (specifically in Mexico, Brazil and Colombia) as the “EmpoderaData Project”. This initiative aimed to promote a virtuous cycle of social transformation by fostering data literacy skills applied to addressing our society’s most pressing issues within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).