Soft landing COxDE for Colombian impact-driven start-ups

Introduction

This Triangular Cooperation Initiative, supported by the ADELANTE Window, brought together leading organisations from Colombia, Mexico, and Germany to develop a sustainable internationalisation model for Colombian impact-driven start-ups. The initiative strengthened entrepreneurial ecosystems by facilitating market access, enhancing business capabilities, and fostering international collaboration.

The partnership leveraged the expertise of globally recognised innovation hubs and business accelerators to equip start-ups with the tools, knowledge, and networks needed to successfully expand into international markets, particularly in Europe.

Objectives

This Triangular Cooperation Initiative strengthened the capacities of the Partnership member entities to create, apply and develop models of entrepreneurship with an internationalisation strategy, while guaranteeing a comprehensive approach in the process. It also tapped into the experience and knowledge of the context in the aspiring markets of Latin America in general, and Colombia in particular, and in the target markets Europe in general, and Germany in particular. 

Partners and their contributions

Each partner contributed specialised knowledge and experience:

• Corporación Ruta N (Colombia): A leading innovation and business hub in Medellín, providing infrastructure and local market expertise.
• Impact Hub Monterrey (Mexico): Extensive experience in business acceleration and supporting Latin American start-ups in accessing global markets.
• Impact Hub Hamburg & Impact Hub Leipzig (Germany): Expertise in entrepreneurial internationalisation, with a strong presence in the European start-up ecosystem.
• Impact Hub Medellín (Colombia) (Collaborating Entity): Facilitated local implementation and mentorship, ensuring alignment with Medellín’s business environment.

Addressing development challenges

While Medellín has a dynamic start-up ecosystem, many Colombian entrepreneurs face challenges in expanding internationally, including:

• Limited market access and lack of international business networks.
• Insufficient knowledge of regulatory, financial, and operational requirements in foreign markets.
• Need for tailored support mechanisms that guide start-ups through the internationalisation process.

This initiative aimed to:

• Develop a structured "soft landing" model for international expansion.
• Equip start-ups with essential business skills for entering European markets.
• Foster long-term collaboration between Latin American and European innovation ecosystems.

By leveraging Triangular Cooperation, the initiative combined knowledge, mentorship, and practical application, ensuring that participating start-ups had a strong foundation for global expansion.

Project activities

This Initiative was based on two main concepts: the development of a model, and its application as a pilot project with 14 start-ups in Medellín. In order to apply it and identify the main lessons learnt from it, a strong support and training component was designed with the 14 start-ups, which was enriched by a study visit to Germany for five of the start-ups. 

Key activities included:

• Model implementation: the initiative began with a comprehensive study that synthesised knowledge from all partners, providing:
  • Best practices in start-up internationalisation from both Latin America and Europe.
  • A benchmarking framework to assess Colombian start-ups' readiness for expansion.
  • A structured methodology for supporting businesses through the entire internationalisation journey.
• Capacity building: a competitive call for applications was launched to identify promising start-ups. The selection process included:
  • Public announcements and outreach events.
  • Rigorous evaluation based on business model, scalability, and readiness.
  • A jury-led selection to ensure the most viable start-ups were chosen. Fourteen start-ups were ultimately selected to participate in the programme.
• Entrepreneurial training and mentorship: a tailored training programme was developed for the selected start-ups, including:
  • One-on-one mentorship with international business experts.
  • Workshops on legal, financial, and tax issues for entering European markets.
  • Networking events with global investors and corporate partners.
  • Speed networking sessions with industry leaders and innovation specialists.
• Community engagement: five high-potential start-ups were selected for a 10-day study visit to Hamburg and Leipzig, Germany. The experience included:
  • Meetings with investors, accelerators, and potential partners.
  • Validation of business models against European market needs.
  • Workshops on product and service adaptation.
  • Engagement with the German start-up ecosystem to establish long-term collaborations.

Cross-cutting themes

Throughout the initiative, cross-cutting themes were embedded to enhance impact:

• Human Rights: ensuring start-ups led by underrepresented groups had access to internationalisation opportunities.
• Environmental: promoting responsible business practices aligned with sustainable development goals.

By integrating these principles, the initiative supported long-term, inclusive economic development.

Results

This Triangular Cooperation Initiative successfully developed and tested an internationalisation model for Colombian start-ups, demonstrating the power of cross-border collaboration in economic development.

The results of this initiative directly contributed to SDG 8 ‘Decent Work & Economic Growth’ supporting entrepreneurship and business expansion and the following targets: 

• Target: 8.3: Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalisation and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services.
• Target 8.4: Improve progressively, through 2030, global resource efficiency in consumption and production and endeavour to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, in accordance with the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production, with developed countries taking the lead.

By fostering global business connectivity and innovation, this initiative paves the way for sustainable and inclusive economic growth in emerging start-up ecosystems.

Implementing partner

Impact Hub Hamburg GmbH, Germany