Marcus Dantus indicated yesterday at The Financial Times Online that, “If you walk through the streets of Mexico City’s hipster neighbourhoods of Condesa or Roma, you are almost certain to bump into an aspiring entrepreneur. The entrepreneurial wave has hit Mexico hard and seems to be gaining momentum rapidly. A new generation of millennials and post-millennials, led by a group of entrepreneurs in their late 30s to early 50s, is starting to believe you can change the world by creating new and better solutions to everyday problems.
“The phenomenon is manifesting everywhere, not just in Mexico City and not just in Mexico. Cities in Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe that would not typically be considered innovation hubs are witnessing an entrepreneurial fever at all levels of society, government, industry and academia.
“But Mexico is particularly ripe for this change. The country is macroeconomically stable and enjoys a good relationship with most nations in the world. It is second highest among 140 countries in the Happy Planet Index, a measure of human wellbeing and environmental impact devised by the UK think-tank New Economics Foundation. This, coupled with its hospitality, world-renowned food and natural beauty, makes Mexico an attractive destination for tourists and immigrants from around the globe. In the past couple of years, for the first time in its modern history, the country reversed its emigration wave, with more Mexicans leaving the US to return to their home country than arriving.”
The FT item explained that, “Different layers of government are injecting federal, state and local dollars into entrepreneurship and technology development via grants, loans and even direct investment into start-ups and venture capital funds, all of which are helping to spark a new culture.”
Mr. Dantus added that, “And money is beginning to pour in. Not only are many international incubators, accelerators and funds investing in Mexico, the number of Mexican seed and venture capital funds has increased rapidly from three in 2008 to 14 in 2012 and more than 60 by last year.”
