There are already 155 large companies working with more than 2,000 startups

Under the premise of generating a quick and inexpensive innovation, large companies seek to attract startups through contests, hackathons, accelerators, incubators and of venture capital funds.

Calculated in the country, there are more than 40 companies that promote this category of shares, in different fields such as banks (Santander, BBVA, Macro, Itaú), insurance (Sancor Seguros, San Cristobal), food products (Mills, Quilmes, Arcor, Mondelez and Grido), technology (IBM, Globant and Google) and telecommunications (Telecom), among others.

According to the experts, innovations are difficult to implement in companies, subject to rigorous and tedious controls. approval procedures. Startups are more agile and have very little time to experiment and get results. " One company has two key advantages: on the one hand, they unlock bureaucratic processes . On the other hand, they accelerate innovation mechanisms since the tests are performed in the startup itself, "says Walter Abrigo, CEO of Incutex, an incubator of Córdoba origin.

"Working with startups has caused a cultural change. Improved working methodologies, shorter product launch times and how to do it," says Federico Espinosa, group disruption sector director brewer Ab Inbev, owner of Quilmes. Three years ago, the company promoted Eklos, a startup accelerator, which has already produced results. Espinosa recently launched a product "with 5% of a traditional investment and we asked 4 months, while the usual duration is 2 years," he said.

According to a Prodem report, financed by the IDB and Wayra (Telefónica), in Latin America " 155 large companies already work with more than 2,000 startups ", with Brazil in the lead (64 examples ), Chile (28), Mexico (24) and Argentina (23). But the economist has identified other cases not included in the study, including Grido, Personal, Arcor, Banco Itaú, IBM, Chivas and the twenty-first century university.

Prodem's report highlights that "68% of Forbes Global 500's Top 100 companies already collaborate with entrepreneurs" and mentions the Disney, Microsoft, Barclays, Johnson & Johnson, Visa, Amex and Coca-Cola cases and Syngenta.

Among the different programs are unique events (competitions or hackathons) and co-working spaces. Then there are accelerators or incubators. And at higher levels, alliances for "product co-development, investment in risk and, finally, the acquisition of the startup," stressed the researchers in the findings.

Instrumented with Incutex, Personal opened the month put an appeal to startups (Personal Garage) to select 5 projects on themes related to the company : entertainment, agriculture, energy, smart cities and connectivity.

"The research aims to improve and add value to the services we offer," says Fernando Freytes, head of new business and innovation at the company. In return, Personal agrees to invest $ 875,000 in the selected startups and provide them with legal, marketing and commercial advice. "At the local level, it is difficult to invest in R & D, so this type of alliance is vital," he added. Freytes calculates that it will shorten the periods of innovation "between 3 and 5 years".

Other telecommunications providers have their own platforms. The Spanish company Telefonica is betting on Wayra, a startup accelerator present in 10 countries and Claro, through a partnership program, with which "we seek to partner with companies specialized in smart cities, mines and energy "cars, agro-industries and government", they explain. "Open innovation is something new in the country. This is not so much for multinationals that meet the guidelines of their parent companies, "said Abrigo.

Grido (of the Helacor Group) launched a call for business creation two or more years ago month as part of its new open innovation program. "20 projects have been pre-selected, we are going to incubate 10", says Clarín Sebastián Santiago, partner and sales manager of the low-cost ice cream chain, which now counts 1,550 franchises in the country and 150 others distributed by Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay.

The entrepreneur adds that the proposal to start-ups has 3 possibilities: to receive an investment, a partnership or to be a supplier of the company .

"The bottom of the offer is the possibility that they can specify their business project and apply it in the chain", remarks Santiago, from this man The focus is on improving three areas: healthy eating, new businesses and new sales channels. According to Freytes, the staff's priority is to "find solutions and promote ideas". For Abrigo, the most pressing needs of companies are "delivery, collection and marketing".

These initiatives essentially create entrepreneurial ecosystems, which involves the creation of a database containing: a menu of potential solutions, innovative ideas and disruptive applications for many of the areas of organizations. Most programs do not even require the exclusivity of their startups. " The important thing is to be close to them to react quickly to an innovative idea ," said Lineu Andrade, head of Itaú Cube, accelerator of the first bank in Brazil .

There are also marketing actions For example, The Venture, a global competition organized by Chivas (Pernod Ricard Group), which takes place in 27 countries, including Argentina. "Each of them is accompanied by a winner, who participates in a final, with a grand prize of up to $ 150,000," says Ignacio Forno, brand manager. "What is the purpose of the contest? Reward the social impact of the project, which concerns our roots ," he concluded.

Questioned by the Fintech generation, the banking sector is accelerating digital conversion. In this context, they promote different actions to attract startups and innovative projects, including Santander, BBVA, Supervielle, Macro and Piano.

The most developed, however, is Cubo Itaú, a 12-story building located in Vila Olímpia the financial city of San Pablo, Brazil. Some 250 start-ups, investors, universities and entrepreneurs came together.

"Cubo was designed for the Brazilian system and is complemented by a digital platform, which replicates the model from the Internet," says Rodolfo Ricci, director of Systems and Technology, in the morning. d & # 39; Itaú. The executive added that his company was badyzing the introduction of a vis-à-vis system in Argentina, "which will help us to generate the external entrepreneurial ecosystem," he adds. he.

Ricci states that one of his latest versions, the Mobile Payment Keyboard, is a hit in Brazil and was created by Kona, a Uruguayan start-up selected at a hackathon. "Technology is a Lego, you bademble coins from all sides to build faster," he says.

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