A few years ago, Peru—through ProInnóvate—launched the Program for the Dynamization of Regional Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystems (DER, for its Spanish acronym). This strategic initiative aims to strengthen innovation capabilities at the subnational level through the co-financing of collaborative projects. DER brings together public, private, and academic actors to energize key productive sectors and build a sustainable institutional base.
I had the opportunity to work with several regional ecosystems across Peru, engaging in exchange spaces with key stakeholders—representatives from national and regional governments, universities, companies, and intermediary organizations. These dialogues focused on assessing progress while reflecting on the challenges of implementation and scaling.
That experience reinforced a core conviction: working at the regional or provincial level holds enormous transformative potential. (As a side note, I would welcome seeing Argentina adopt a similar approach, focused on strengthening each of its provincial ecosystems.)
Innovation ecosystems are complex structures composed of actors, relationships, resources, and enabling conditions that interact within a given territory to either foster—or, in some cases, constrain—innovation. While definitions vary, the most influential frameworks converge around three shared characteristics:
i) relational complexity,
ii) an evolutionary nature, and
iii) dependence on enabling conditions such as active public policies, collaborative governance, and institutional trust.
From this perspective, regional ecosystems acquire strategic importance. They enable the activation of endogenous capabilities, align public policy with the local productive structure, and enhance territorial competitiveness. They also foster public-private coordination and trust-building—critical conditions for experimentation, performance measurement, and scaling what works.
In Latin America, many regional or provincial ecosystems can be described as “knowledge deserts” (Buciuni et al., 2023): environments characterized by low technological density, talent outflows, and weak institutional connectivity. In these contexts, public policy plays a catalytic role in ecosystem dynamization. Building local networks, strengthening territorial intermediaries, and deploying positioning strategies are essential to reverse peripheral dynamics and reinforce local capabilities.
To ensure that infrastructure investments and financial resources do not become disconnected enclaves within the territory, three key dimensions must be activated:
a) consistent public institutional support, including active policies and dedicated funding for Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI);
b) international connectivity, through partnerships with global hubs, talent attraction strategies, and collaborative networks;
c) coordinated intermediation, led by universities, innovation platforms, or bridge organizations capable of translating across sectors and reducing asymmetries.
Strategically, ecosystem dynamization must go beyond financing or programmatic execution. One central idea becomes clear: no regional ecosystem emerges or consolidates by decree. Ecosystems are built over time—with institutional patience—grounded in shared learning, transformation narratives, spaces for experimentation and iterative trial-and-error, and relationships that transcend individual leaders and specific projects.
Operationally, this means strengthening intermediary institutions and fostering spaces for collaborative governance. Here, Feld’s (2012) concept is particularly relevant: intermediaries—such as agencies, incubators, accelerators, venture capital funds, and universities—must coordinate without controlling, sustain relationships over time, and operate beyond political cycles.
Ecosystems require entrepreneurial leaders, but also committed “feeders”: government, academia, and the private sector—actors that enable and support, without replacing entrepreneurial agency.
This article was originally published in the first 2026 quarterly edition of GlobalStartups magazine, by the International Startup Association and the Business Market Network. Read the full edition here.