Mexico has everything to become an entrepreneur

"The talent exists, there's population that is a force for change and dares to create options rather than follow them". them." The General Manager of High-Impact Entrepreneurship Programs and at INADEM, Adriana Tortajada, stresses that entrepreneurs in Mexico need to be prepared,be more sophisticated,be the best at what they love to do.

In an interview with the BBVA Innovation Center during Entrepreneur Week, Tortajada stressed that Mexican entrepreneurs must feel very proud of what they are able to do, take it to its full potential so an open, collaborative environment with multidisciplinary groups carry out their projects. "The Lone is gone. You need to work together to address an issue as lobbying, alliances because there are”.

Therefore, one of the advantages of being an entrepreneur in Mexico is the scale, as it is the second country in the region to join the Latin American front and the neighbor of the world's biggest market, in addition to the Free Trade Agreement of North America (NAFTA), the Pacific Alliance. Thus, the geographical location is also an advantage for undertaking locally.

Mexico has the second highest number of young people in the world,only behind India, the average age is 25.7, and 110,000 engineers graduate from universities each year.

The manager of INADEM states that it's essential to reformulate Mexico's sales pitch, what it does have and what is being built.Mexico has the greatest trade liberalization, with the largest number of trade agreements. "We have the diversity of actors who take risks and we want to be the platform gives them visibility".

In this regard,she stresses that Mexico is home to the Startup Nation Summit which will be held from November 19 to 22 and will involve 70 countries."Mexico was chosen as the venue because it links best practices and is a vibrant ecosystem, a hub of entrepreneurship and innovation. It's the first time the event has been held in the region."

The aim of INADEM

Tortajada emphasizes in this point the importance of entrepreneurial support institutions So, she remembers that when the National Institute of Entrepreneurship (INADEM) was created, funding gaps were sought for entrepreneurs with projects that have a differentiating factor, (or double impact) and that, besides the economic benefit, seek to provide something more in a sustainable, cultural, creative, digital and inventive way. However, the window of opportunity is so short that if you don't react faster than the funding can be released, the opportunity is lost.

"We developed a co-investment program to trigger more capital funds in early stages that we call venture capital. There is a "J" curve that at some point crosses the breakeven point and this is where the subsidies are. When it's below, it's the valley of death. Since it has been validated, you need scale and there are still no cash flows to be creditworthy; not only resources are needed, but also intelligent and patient allies accompanying the project," explains Tortajada.

According to figures from the Mexican Association of Private Equity Funds, in 2013 it had 12-15 funds in early stages, not seeds. The INADEM of 2013-2015 boosted 15 new investment vehicles in which it provides 1.5 trillion pesos (tp) that become 4.5 tp with the private contribution and can reach a target market of between 460 and 500 high-impact entrepreneurs.

“We want people who are more specialized in areas such as the regional sector and with a productive vocation, which is where you can transcend to generate new industries. This is the best time to be an entrepreneur in Mexico," added the head of INADEM.

Entrepreneur Week

With Startup without borders, during Entrepreneur Week INADEM brings countries that have partnerships with Mexico and have no visibility, such as Germany, Korea, Israel, Taiwan. It also seeks to learn from practices with greater experience with the US or the UK.

"We have the second largest economy in Latin America; in Mexico you can test projects on the market and scale them, that's the advantage of being an entrepreneur in Mexico," says the General Manager of High- Impact Entrepreneurship Programs and Financing at INADEM.