GEN in Mexico

The Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) has been active in Mexico since 2008, when it launched Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) with two founding local partners: Impulsa—today Junior Achievement Mexico (JA México)—and Endeavor Mexico. What began as a grassroots initiative rooted in schools and youth entrepreneurship programs quickly grew into one of Latin America's largest national entrepreneurship campaigns. Throughout its evolution, Martha Cervantes, Chief Operations Officer of JA México, has played a central role in coordinating and expanding the initiative.

Over the years, GEW Mexico evolved through distinct phases—from its grassroots beginnings, to a period of strong public-sector support during the era of the National Institute for the Entrepreneur (INADEM), and ultimately into today's self-sustaining alliance of private-sector, nonprofit, educational, and ecosystem organizations.

Mexico's policymakers in the global entrepreneurship movement

In 2015, GEN partnered with INADEM, an agency within Mexico's Ministry of Economy, to host the Startup Nations Summit (SNS), making Mexico the first country in Latin America to convene the invitation-only gathering of entrepreneurship policymakers. Held alongside INCmty in Monterrey, the summit brought together more than 100 policymakers and ecosystem leaders representing over 60 countries to exchange strategies for supporting entrepreneurship and innovation. The event reinforced Mexico's position as a regional leader in entrepreneurship policy and elevated the country's role within GEN's global policy community.

Mexico's leadership in GEN's global policy community began even earlier. Enrique Jacob, President of INADEM, was among the pioneering group of cabinet-level officials who helped launch an international government dialogue on entrepreneurship through a dedicated SME Ministerial, co-hosted by GEN and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC) Milan, in 2015. That initiative later evolved into the Startup Nations Ministerial, which continues to convene ministers and senior government leaders from around the world to advance entrepreneurship policy.

Mexico also played an active role in shaping the Startup Nations network itself. Adriana Tortajada Narváez of INADEM was among its early members and participated in the inaugural Startup Nations Summit in Kuala Lumpur in 2013, helping establish the international community of government leaders dedicated to advancing entrepreneurship policy.

Connecting Mexican startups to global markets

Since 2019, GEN has connected Mexican entrepreneurs to international investors, mentors, and markets through the Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC), the world's largest startup pitch competition. The national competition is organized by INCMty, the entrepreneurship platform of Tecnológico de Monterrey, under the leadership of Rogelio de los Santos.

Mexican startups have consistently distinguished themselves on the global stage. Preemar Soluciones Acuícolas became one of the program's early EWC 100 companies, while Abeja Reyna, Bloinx, Getin, and DAEREO Technologies have also represented Mexico internationally. At the global finals held in 2023, BioGrip won the Tech + Space category and Apical Biotech finished runner-up in the Idea Stage competition. In 2024, Yumari captured the Early Stage championship, further demonstrating the strength of Mexico's innovation ecosystem. Companies including Forma Foods, Grow Farms, Beeok, and Savefruit have likewise benefited from international exposure through the program.

GEN's Startup Huddle program has also expanded to Mexico. The chapter in Tijuana, led by Araceli Luna in partnership with the Consejo de Desarrollo Económico de Tijuana, provides entrepreneurs with a peer-driven forum to refine ideas, receive expert feedback, and build stronger businesses.

Advancing entrepreneurship research and investment

Mexico also contributes to GEN's global research and investment communities. Institutions including Tecnológico de Monterrey, the University of Guadalajara, and the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez have participated in the Global Entrepreneurship Research Network, helping generate knowledge that informs entrepreneurship policy and practice worldwide.

Mexico's investment community is likewise active within GEN Invest's Global Business Angels Network (GBAN). Israel Pons, founder of Pitch at the Beach, serves on the GBAN Board, representing Latin America and the Caribbean while strengthening connections between Mexican investors and global capital networks.

A growing ecosystem with global connections

Today, GEN works alongside a broad coalition of Mexican partners—including JA México, Startup Mexico, the Ministry of Economy, Tecnológico de Monterrey and incMTY, the Consejo de Desarrollo Económico de Tijuana, and iLab—to strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems throughout the country.

GEN's collaboration with Mexico also extends to entrepreneurship education and methodology. Working with iLab in Veracruz, led by Victor Moctezuma, GEN partnered to introduce the No Bad Ideas card game to the global GEN community. Originally developed in Mexico as a creative tool to foster ideation, teamwork, and entrepreneurial thinking, the game has since been shared with entrepreneurship support organizations and educators across the GEN network, demonstrating how innovations developed in Mexico can benefit founders and ecosystem builders around the world.

Mexico's leadership also extends across the global GEN network. Liliana Reyes, Director General at Fondo de Fondos and former CEO of AMEXCAP, and Adriana Tortajada Narváez, CEO & Managing Partner of 1200 VC and a former leader at INADEM, serve as GEN Global Ambassadors. Their continued participation in GEN's global leadership community reflects Mexico's longstanding contribution to advancing entrepreneurship worldwide while strengthening connections between the country's ecosystem and partners across the globe.