Ecuador holds one of the highest rates of early entrepreneurship in Latin America. In 2016, Total Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) in Ecuador was 31.8% – 2.2 times higher than the average of efficiency-driven economies. It comes as no surprise therefore that international companies and accelerators looking to empower entrepreneurs are turning their attention to the Andean country.
One example is 10xU. In teaming up with Ecuador’s IDE Business School, the company’s announced the launch of the 10xU IDE Innovation Center to help foster entrepreneurship and economic development in the country.
10xU serves as a platform for preparing and educating individuals and startups to successfully build their company – helping in areas from product execution, to investment.
The center is located at the IDE Business School, part of the University of the Hemispheres (Universidad de los Hemisferios) and is offering two 10xU Cobuild Courses.
The first course, designed for startups, provides an overview on how to create and grow a company, and helps design a startup roadmap which addresses decisions regarding the product, equipment, and capital raising.
The second course is targeted at executives, to improve company competitive advantage, help expand the vision of the business globally, while mitigating the risk of becoming obsolete. As a portfolio company of Rokk3r Labs, the 10xU courses are based on Rokk3r Lab’s methodology and are available on the University’s Quito and Guayquil campuses.
Rokk3r Labs is a venture builder and call themselves the world’s first ‘co-building’ platform for entrepreneurs, corporations and investors to create exponential startups. They focus on leveraging exponential technologies – such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, and Internet of Things.
With the launch of their innovation center, 10xU and Rokk3r Labs say they will be able to engage local entrepreneurship and industry experts to create a high-potential environment for startups in Ecuador.
“We are honored to partner with IDE to launch 10xU IDE, as this not only marks the first of our global subsidiaries, it also provides us with a strategic partner that shares our passion for entrepreneurship and our mission to take local innovation to the international stage,” said Lorenzo de Leo, CEO and co-founder of 10xU.
As one of the leading business schools in the region, IDE Business School is an obvious place for the center, as it will provide an education along with business expertise. According to Nabyl Charania, CEO of Rokk3r Labs, 10xU IDE will “enable entrepreneurship at its initial light” and “bolster exponential thinking and action.”
Ecuador is favourably positioned to lead the region in the entrepreneurship industry, ranking higher than Chile, Colombia and Peru in early entrepreneurship rates. This new international partnership will allow local startups to think, not only about exponential growth, but also global expansion.
The recent announcement of an alliance between the National University of San Agustin in Arequipa, Peru and Indiana’s Purdue University, further illustrates the innovation and talent pouring out of Latin America’s prestigious educational institutions.
