Innovation is the key to the future of new markets, a key tool that will make it possible to integrate new technologies, develop products that challenge users and be able to have more personalized services. However, these processes are not easy to bring to reality for large companies due to the high fragmentation of the markets, the constant change in consumer behavior and the speed with which technology is transformed. Consequently, every day ventures emerge that develop novel and specific solutions, which are at the forefront of what people think, feel and want.
(Logistics solutions, key to boosting SMEs).
Not even the big technology companies are exempt from the need to carry out innovation strategies that promote new products or services. For example, just a few days ago, the renowned company Adobe decided to buy the collaborative design platform Figma for 20,000 million dollars, with which it hopes to remain relevant for new generations and forecasts that it will double its recurring annual income to 400 million dollars. .
Faced with these needs and the growth of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the world, in recent years, companies seek to be more competitive and relevant, leveraging emerging companies (Startups) that are transforming their industries through open innovation and collaboration programs. . In Colombia, organizations like Grupo Éxito, Tetra Pak and Grupo Energía Bogotá (GEB)are leading the boom of multilatinas that seek to solve strategic challenges together with entrepreneurs through these types of programs that, this year alone, have brought together more than 250 startups and represent investments of more than 2,500 million between these three companies.
“The type of open innovation program an organization adopts depends on the scope it wants to achieve and how involved it wants to be in the entrepreneurial ecosystem” explains Eliana Arboleda, Director of Corporate Accelerators and Open Innovation at Estratek.
(New solutions for companies that accelerate their growth).
“Let’s say the GEB developed a Venture Client to become a pioneer client for startups with solutions for the energy sector. On the other hand, Tetra Pak and Grupo Éxito created corporate startup accelerators, which are committed to closing technological gaps or solving company innovation challenges, experimenting and co-creating together with entrepreneurs, with the aim of becoming ambidextrous organizations that explore new business horizons and can go beyond their traditional market”, Grove added.
For his part, Edwin RozoBusiness Development Manager of Tetra Pak Andinaindicates that Startups By Tetra Pak is an initiative that seeks to accelerate the innovation processes of startups in the Agrofoodtech sector focused on innovation in unconventional categories with disruptive products to meet new consumer demands.
“For this, we will carry out collaborative processes to support these ventures in the areas of brand generation, strategy for launches, and product design, supported by all our ‘know how’ in the food sector”, the manager added.
For her part, the Director of Strategy and Innovation Management at Grupo Éxito, Jennifer Posada, assures that her higher purpose is to nurture opportunities in Colombia, strengthening and promoting entrepreneurship. “From this premise, we seek to work in co-creation with startups, which allows us to generate value for our stakeholders, doing things in an innovative, different, simple and agile way”.
In a more competitive world, in which brands are beginning to cross borders thanks to digitalization, open innovation programs allow companies to solve challenges that they have not been able to solve with their resources and capabilities.
Finally, the GEB, as part of its open innovation strategy, created the Venture Client GEB program to allow the company and its subsidiaries carry out processes of rapid experimentation of innovative solutions, to the challenges of the future of the industry, coming from startups and scaleups.
“With this program we seek several key objectives: the first is to have innovation opportunities for the subsidiaries of the business group from technology-based and/or scientific startups aligned with our innovation focuses. The second thing is to perform a startup scouting function, and lastly, to expose the business group’s collaborators to the work dynamics of entrepreneurs”emphasized Daniel Muñoz Álvarez, GEB Innovation Manager.
Likewise, the manager added that these programs are a clear signal for entrepreneurs “that demonstrates how large companies see their importance and a clear way of generating value for new economies.”
María Isabel Uribe, Operations Manager at Endeavor Colombia in Medellín, concludes, pointing out that open innovation programs are also a great opportunity for startups to receive, in addition to economic resources, connections, mentorships and the opportunity to test their solution and scale it. hand in hand with large companies.
For its part, Estratek mentioned that these initiatives are recent in the country and that, just in 2017, the country’s first Corporate Accelerator came into operation with Sodimac-Corona, which to date, and after running three ‘batches’has allowed these organizations to work with more than 70 startups.
Despite the short time that has elapsed, the interest of companies in this subject grows every year in the country, as shown by the most recent ANDI study, which shows that there are currently at least 31 formally structured Corporate Venture Capital funds that have invested more than USD 3.7 million in startups during the last year, added to the launch of the Startup Friendly seal, an alliance between ANDI, Estratek and Protección, which seeks to boost this type of relationship between startups and corporations.
