Soft Landing COxDE for Colombian impact-driven start-ups

Background

Impact Hub is one of the most important networks in the world in the field of entrepreneurship, focused on creating and connecting entrepreneurial communities, in addition to the permanent search for impact-driven solutions that are adapted to the most pressing challenges of today. The network is comprised of 100 hubs in more than 55 countries, sharing common objectives and work methods, as well as a unique brand identity. However, each hub has its own legal personality and is independent from the others, with its own team and scope of work.

Impact Hub Hamburg (Germany) and Impact Hub Leipzig (Germany) are two of the members of the network in Germany. From the very beginning, these two entities have participated in several joint projects and in a number of bilateral processes, providing direct support to new members of the network around the world. They have a special commitment to the Impact Hub Monterrey (Mexico), through initiatives for the international expansion of start-ups, aimed at accessing new markets in Europe, the United States and other Latin American countries. Through this joint work, applying entrepreneurial solutions in the business sector in Mexico has been an important exercise in adapting and adjusting the work model, providing a strong added value and a fruitful learning experience for the German actors involved.

The success of this previous collaboration has led these three entities to consolidate their relationship and make it available to actors throughout the region involved in entrepreneurship, and with a special focus on the international expansion of start-ups, especially in the European market. In this process, a framework agreement for collaboration was created with Corporación Ruta N (Colombia), the innovation and business hub of the city of Medellín.

In order to enhance coordination, Impact Hub Medellín (Colombia) also joined, and whose understanding of the context in Colombia and Medellín perfectly complemented the perspective of Corporación Ruta N.

Entities and roles

Beneficiary entities

Corporación Ruta N

Colombia

First provider entities

Impact Hub Monterrey

Mexico

Second provider entities

Impact Hub Hamburg

Germany

Impact Hub Leipzig

Germany

Collaborating entities

Impact Hub Medellín, Colombia

Development challenges

Thanks to this Triangular Cooperation Initiative, Corporación Ruta N was able to maximise all of the knowledge, experience and relational capital to generate, apply and develop models to support entrepreneurship based on internationalisation, thus guaranteeing a comprehensive approach to the process. Thanks to their experience and knowledge of the context of the countries of origin and target markets, Impact Hub Hamburg, Impact Hub Leipzig and Impact Hub Monterrey contributed to the challenge of developing a model to support start-ups in the city of Medellín, oriented towards internationalisation, and in particular, towards the European market.

This model was jointly developed and applied, since it was accompanied by a pilot experience with 14 start-ups in Medellín.

Adapting the designed model to the context in Medellín, as in the case of Monterrey, was a new source of learning for all the Partnership entities. As a result, they were better prepared to engage with more entrepreneurial communities throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

It is worth noting the great potential to scale up the Impact Hub network. All of the insights generated within this Initiative are already available to the 150 hubs of the network, both to apply this knowledge within their respective countries and for use in other international collaboration processes that are already underway.

This Triangular Cooperation Initiative strengthened the capacities of the Partnership member entities to create, apply and develop models of entrepreneurship with an internationalisation strategy, while guaranteeing a comprehensive approach in the process. It also tapped into the experience and knowledge of the context in the aspiring markets (Latin America in general, and Colombia in particular) and in the target markets (Europe in general, and Germany in particular).

Triangular approach

There is broad consensus supporting entrepreneurship as one of the key strategies towards economic recovery, following the crisis arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

This Initiative aimed to harness the knowledge and experience of both European and Latin American entities in entrepreneurship, affiliated with one of the most important international networks in the field; building capacities to develop and apply internationalisation models that are based on the specific experience of Colombia and Germany. With the real-time application of these models, the creation of partnerships and frameworks for collaboration between the entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystems of both countries was also strengthened, with the possibility of scaling up in many other countries in both regions.

It is worth noting that the Initiative was part of the 'Productivity, competitiveness and internationalisation' component of the 'Medellín Future Development Plan 2020 - 2023'.

Sectoral approach - Contribution to the 2030 Agenda

Primary SDG

Goal 8.3 Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services

Goal 8.4 Improve progressively, through 2030, global resource efficiency in consumption and production and endeavour to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, in accordance with the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production, with developed countries taking the lead

Secondary SDG

Goal 11.A Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning

ADELANTE SDG

Goal 10.1 By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average

Goal 10.2 By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status

Goal 17.9 Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the sustainable development goals, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation

Goal 17.11 Significantly increase the exports of developing countries, in particular with a view to doubling the least developed countries’ share of global exports by 2020

Territorial approach

Intervention methodology

This Initiative was based on two main concepts: the development of a model, and its application as a pilot project with 14 start-ups in Medellín.

In order to apply it and identify the main lessons learnt from it, a strong support and training component was designed with the 14 start-ups, which was enriched by a study visit to Germany for five of the start-ups.

As an initial step in the process, a study was carried out to collect all the prior knowledge of each and every one of the Partnership entities applicable to this case, in an orderly and synthesised way. This study developed specific proposals for the intervention model, and also defined the benchmarking framework, guidelines and regulations for the call to identify and select the start-ups that participated in the application of the model.

As a result, the following steps were taken: the call for participation was launched and managed, including the announcement and dissemination (including the organisation of specific events), publication of the rules, responding to queries from interested parties, receiving and analysing the proposals submitted (both in terms of compliance with the requirements and the technical quality), assessment, publication of the first shortlist, the establishment of a jury, a round of interviews with the jury, publication of the second shortlist, the announcement of the final short-listed applicants, and finally, the signing of the partnership agreements.

Once the 14 start-ups had been selected, a series of workshops designed specifically for this Triangular Cooperation Initiative were held, combining different formats and content. The different formats ranged from one-to-one mentoring and one-on-one meetings to open training sessions, as well as 'speed networks,' where speakers from all over the world were invited in order to harness the knowledge of other networks and start-up ecosystems. In addition, specific advisory services were offered in order to ensure that the legal, accounting and tax foundations of each entity were secure.

This process also served to select the 5 entities that participated in the study visit to Germany. Once selected, several preliminary sessions and specific preparation was carried out for the visit.

The study visit to Germany took place over 10 days in the cities of Hamburg and Leipzig, with the permanent support and exclusive dedication of a number of professionals from the host hubs and from all the other Partnership entities. According to the proposed methodology, the work carried out during that time was based on the following pillars: validating the problem-solution alignment, validating the product-market compatibility, and obtaining the support of the German ecosystem, while also focusing on the European ecosystem as a whole. The visit was rated as very positive by each and every one of the participants.

The Initiative concluded with a final study in the form of a final evaluation, which aimed to capture, synthesise and share the main lessons learnt from the process with the international community. In this study, the active participation and leadership of all of the entities and individuals participating in the Initiative was essential.

Direct beneficiaries (individuals)

According to Rule 9 of the Guidelines for Applicants: all persons participating in the activities of the Initiative.

The Initiative has 30 direct beneficiaries from two well-defined groups: professionals from the Partnership member entities, and in particular the professionals from Corporación Ruta N, as well as from the collaborating entity (12) and professionals from the 14 start-ups that benefited from the entire process of defining and applying the model (18), and in particular the 5 professionals from the start-ups that participated in the study visit to Germany.

In terms of the professionals from Corporación Ruta N, their participation has a strong multiplier effect, since the installed capacities in the entity will facilitate the application of the model from this moment onwards in Medellín, as well as its transformation and adaptation to be implemented in other cities around the country.

Budget

EU contribution: 70,782.11 €

Co-financing - Triangular Cooperation Partnership: 29,886.00 €

Total budget: 100,668.11 €

The information gathered in this IMPACT section is the result of the first 'joint ex post analysis exercise' of the Initiative which, as foreseen in the policy framework of the ADELANTE Window, took place one year after the end of the implementation period.

For more information on these exercises, please consult the ADELANTE Window 2021 Impact Report.

Continuity of the Partnership

STARTING POINT: Existing North-South relationship that extended its scope to more Beneficiaries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Partnership, as such, has been strengthened and maintained over time.

The dynamic of collaboration and joint work between all the Partnership member entities in the core areas of the Initiative has been maintained.

Application of generated knowledge

The knowledge generated has been applied by all Partnership member entities.

In addition, they have been shared with different local groups within the scope of the Beneficiary entity, as well as with members of the networks to which the Provider entities belong.

The Initiative involved final beneficiary groups (start-ups) during its implementation.

The Beneficiary entity has continued to work closely with these groups, even extending the scope, who have benefited and have applied the knowledge generated during the Initiative.

Significant growth in the volume of companies participating in the acceleration phase.

Impact

Applying this knowledge has enabled the Beneficiary entity to successfully tackle the development challenge that gave rise to the Initiative with the necessary quality and guarantees.

At the same time, the other Partnership member entities have increased the impact of their interventions.

Creation of similar programmes with countries such as Spain, the Netherlands and England.

Support for the launch of the European Business Network in Colombia.

FACTORS THAT HAVE ENABLED THE IMPACT:

The stakeholder relationships established during the Initiative.

Future perspectives

Continue to make progress in the Partnership’s work.

Continue applying the knowledge generated, building on the experience gained and taking advantage of the momentum derived from the productive joint work.

Continue to make progress in the transfer of knowledge to the beneficiary groups, monitoring and evaluating the impact in their respective areas of intervention

NEW EX POST EXERCISE:

Yes (2024)

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