Business between companies and ‘startups’ increased 76%

Connect Bogotá and 100 Open Startups presented the results of the ‘2022 Open Innovation Ranking’, which aims to highlight the most attractive startups for the corporate market and those companies that collaborate the most with local entrepreneurs to promote innovation.

(See: The winners of the Open Innovation Ranking 2022).

Now, in this version, a total of 248 startups and 173 companies participated, registering more than 1,300 relationships or contracts, a figure that increased by 50% compared to 2021. Likewise, it was evidenced that startups that have had relationships with companies increased by 31% compared to the previous year, while large corporations that worked with entrepreneurs had an increase of 76%.

Regarding the sectors that stood out, in relation to startups, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data had a great presence, concentrating a large part of the outstanding ventures. On the business side, sectors such as energy and education appeared on the map of open innovation.

Starting with the ‘top 10’ of recognized startups, the first place was taken by the AppingLab venture, which is located in the customer service category; second place went to Guane Enterprises (artificial intelligence); the third position was taken by entrepreneurship DataKnow (big data), while fourth place went to Datup (productivity); followed by Selectum Club (marketplace) and Uptime Analytics (cleantechs), who took fifth and sixth place, respectively.

(See: Open Innovation Ranking: the 100 most attractive ‘startups’).

For its part, the Mero venture, focused on sustainability issues, took seventh place; instant (fintechs) ranked eighth, while startups OnCredit (legaltechs) and DeepSea Developments (IoT) ranked ninth and tenth in the ranking.

In the case of the companies that are most related to entrepreneurs, in the first place the Ecopetrol, followed by Success Group. This ‘top three’ of companies completed it Make up for. In fourth and fifth place were Corona Industrial and Telefónica Movistar, respectively. The companies Essity and Enel appeared in the sixth and seventh position, while Celsia, Alianza Team and Grupo Bolívar They closed the list.

It is worth noting that the Universidad del Rosario received a special mention at the event.
As a novelty, in this edition five organizations from the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem were also awarded: Ruta N, iNNpulsa, Rockstart, Endeavor and Créame.

Tatiana León, director of entrepreneurship and open innovation at Connect Bogotá Region, stated that this is the second time that this type of ranking has been carried out in Colombia, in order to find out how startups are relating to the corporate ecosystem.

(See: Nokia: what it currently offers and its projections in the market).

“From 100 Open Startups and Connect Bogotá we have been calling all the ventures to learn about their relationship with the largest companies. And it is that collaboration will allow us to take entrepreneurs to the next level”, remarked Leon.

Among the findings of the ‘2022 Open Innovation Ranking’, the reasons why executives seek to work and interact with startups were evident.

Thus 72% of the participants stated that their main reason is to discover new ideas and innovations, while 63% indicated that they seek innovative solutions for their companies; 50% pointed out that this helps entrepreneurs to develop their businesses and another 50% added that they are looking for investment opportunities.

“Open or collaborative innovation is positioned more and more as a fundamental tool to generate solutions that respond in a disruptive way to the demands of the market and the user, and this is demonstrated by the ranking figures”, Leon pointed out.

(See: Cartagena will inaugurate the first Center for Innovation and Technology).

During the presentation of the ranking, the arrival in the country of the TechnoArt@Selina program was also announced.

This is how this platform, which will be promoted by Connect Bogotá, will seek to identify startups that support and improve communities, whether through social, environmental or other types of positive impacts.

According to Connect Bogotá, TechnoArt@Selina’s innovation program was designed to help startups scale, using Selina’s hosting network, which has a presence in 25 countries.

“The program includes tutoring, access to the ecosystem of Selina as a testing ground for products or services and up to $50,000 in stay and service credits. The program helps entrepreneurs live and work from Selina properties around the world and benefit from its network of partners for business development, software support, financial consulting, marketing and, of course, its network of mentors and investors. Connect noted.

Sam Khazary, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Corporate Development for Selina, commented that through this program they hope to learn “to the next great visionaries of Latin America and provide them with a space, and a supportive community, to take their passion to the next level”.

TechnoArt is an open innovation platform providing startups at all stages with tools and support for product and business development. In addition, it helps obtain financing to facilitate growth.

This initiative has stood out for empowering teams with critical thinking methodologies, Connect Bogotá revealed the ‘Open Innovation Ranking’.

BRIEFCASE