We are nearing the end of one of the most intense and challenging years we can remember. If in 2019 we had the so-called “social explosion”, and 2020 impacted us with the arrival of the pandemic, these last months made it clear to us that the speed of adaptation is something with which we will have to learn to live.
In this sense, the complexities of the health emergency undoubtedly affected the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The “Pandemic Impact” survey, conducted quarterly by the Association of Entrepreneurs of Chile (Asech), revealed in its latest report last August that 89.1% of respondents have seen their entrepreneurship affected, 59.6% of them in a serious or catastrophic way. Even so, there are signs of hope: 29.1% of respondents stated that their situation has been improving in the last 6 months, while 30.5% said that the situation has remained.
In parallel, there are many cases of companies that knew how to overcome this difficulty, react quickly and take advantage of adversity as a benefit. Several ventures even debuted in the pandemic using as a pillar of their business a fundamental aspect of the times we live in: (technological) transformation. The virtualization of relationships and the way of working accelerated a change that had already been brewing in recent years and created an opportunity for traditional startups and SMEs. There are many examples, and not only in the health area, but also in logistics, delivery, finance, online psychology, entertainment, food, to name a few.
We must also highlight this year the work that has been consolidated between the corporate world and the entrepreneurial world. Corporate “Company building” initiatives, an innovation model that is generated when large companies internally incubate their own startups to develop new business units. Or also, “Open Innovation” models, where large companies open calls to form alliances with startups that provide them with new solutions to internal challenges and, in return, offer advice, financial support in the pilots and showcase so that businesses can scale. In the process, everyone involved learns from each other’s vision and experience and good ideas have a real chance of being put into practice.
These models of corporate innovation have been developing in more advanced countries for some time, but the fact that Chile is applying them and experimenting with greater regularity speaks of an ecosystem willing to change and renew itself. Therefore, I firmly believe that the interaction of large companies and startups will bring greater development to the country and better opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship.
If 2020 and 2021 were years of meaningful reaction to a global event and laying the foundations for new ways of doing business collaboratively, I trust that the future will continue in this line and allow to capitalize on the success that startups / ventures are obtaining to promote the total expansion of the ecosystem, and create the conditions so that those who come behind can also access these opportunities.
The content expressed in this opinion column is the sole responsibility of its author, and does not necessarily reflect the editorial line or position of El Mostrador.
