Of the companies participating in the study, 28% indicated that they invest in foreign startups, 22% have investments in Mexico and Latin America, and another 22% invest in startups in Mexico and the United States.

By  INSTITUTIONAL COMMUNICATION | EGADE BUSINESS SCHOOL

In order to report on the current outlook of Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) in our country, EGADE Business School - Tecnológico de Monterrey, through its Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and the Mexican Association of Private Equity (AMEXCAP) developed a collaborative study on CVC experiences and good practices in Mexico.

This initiative permitted a more in-depth exploration of the characteristics, organizational structure, corporate governance, and strategies and sectors interested in CVC investments in Mexico, thereby generating improved collaboration between the actors of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and promoting a greater professionalization of these activities in our country.

“In developed countries, CVC growth has been surprising. In order to promote a prosperous entrepreneurial ecosystem in Mexico, five well-orchestrated key players are essential: startups, universities, government, investors and corporations,” said Félix Cárdenas, Director of EGADE Business School’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

The study included a 34-question survey on the operation and impact of CVC in Mexico, generating descriptive statistics of the 19 corporations that participated in the same. The main findings of this investigation are:

• Most of the participating corporations (19 out of 23) have a specific area for CVC, with a mandate and an assigned structure. Of these units, 89% have between 1 and 10 employees.
   
• Practically all the companies interviewed (89%) seek to attract and support startups of external origin.
   
• 44% of companies in the Mexican ecosystem have financing from a fund of less than $10 million dollars. In addition, 13% of companies in Mexico invest up to $100 million.
   
• 28% of the participating companies indicated that they invested in foreign startups, 22% have investments in Mexico and Latin America, and another 22% invest in Mexican and U.S. startups.
   
• Of the companies surveyed, approximately 29% make 0 to 2 investments per year, 65% 3 to 5 investments per year, and just 6% more than 10 investments per year.

“One of the strategic challenges for many business organizations is how to achieve a permanent capacity for innovation that allows them to renew their product and service portfolio, and adapt their business model in the face of the pressures from a volatile, unpredictable environment. In this regard, the corporate executives interviewed indicated that CVC has a positive impact, both in financial and strategic terms,” commented Liliana Reyes, General Director of AMEXCAP.

Considering that the four fundamental resources of an entrepreneurial ecosystem are talent, capital, ideas, and technology, the EGADE Business School and AMEXCAP study on Corporate Venture Capital in Mexico will promote understanding and interconnection between these components, delving into specific data on CVC operations in Mexico.

The study was presented on November 10 within the framework of the second edition of INC Corporate Venture Capital, a forum organized by AMEXCAP in partnership with Global Corporate Venturing, during Tecnológico de Monterrey’s 2021 INCmty entrepreneurship festival.

You can see the study here: https://egade.csf.itesm.mx/ci/cie/publicaciones.html