At StartCo, Ruta N presents its strategy to strengthen Medellín’s innovation ecosystem

Ruta N is participating in the event, on April 16 and 17, with more than 60 startups.

During the seventh edition of StartCo, Ruta N’s Executive Director, Carolina Londoño, presented the strategies through which the organization is driving and energizing Medellín’s innovation ecosystem. She first highlighted the opportunities promoted by the entity to generate knowledge aimed at economic and social development.

According to her, these efforts have contributed to Medellín becoming the fastest-growing ecosystem in South America over the past two years and the city with the highest startup density in Latin America.

In this context, Londoño outlined the progress of StartIA, the platform that integrates the entrepreneurial support ecosystem. It currently brings together 692 startups, 288 investors, and 47 ecosystem actors, with 99 programs available for entrepreneurs, and records an average of 10 connections per week. “StartIA is the brain of the ecosystem,” she stated.

Regarding the Medellín Next program, she noted that in 2025 it supported the 25 highest-potential startups in the city, which achieved a 47% increase in sales. For its second cohort, 149 companies applied, and the goal for 2026 is to strengthen and scale around 100 startups. “This is the next generation of Medellín’s business fabric. It is a program focused on increasing sales, generating new business opportunities, and building connections,” she explained.

Londoño also referred to Medellín Venture Capital, a strategy aimed at strengthening capabilities, facilitating connections, and promoting fund investment, with the goal of consolidating an environment that prioritizes human capital.

In this regard, she highlighted the training of 160 new investors for the science, technology, and innovation ecosystem, including angel investors, family offices, and corporate investors. Additionally, more than 500 university students have been introduced to the Venture Client model through the +Capital CUEE program.

In terms of smart capital, she underscored the creation of M Capital, an investment vehicle that brings together more than 20 angel investors and has COP 1 billion allocated to startups in the city.

Finally, the director invited ecosystem stakeholders to engage with the institutional offering. “Explore and take advantage of Ruta N’s programs to continue energizing the ecosystem and generating more social and economic opportunities for Medellín,” she concluded.

Ruta N’s participation in StartCo 2026:

The organization has a strategic presence at this gathering, which brings together startups, investors, and leaders from the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Through this agenda, Ruta N aims to strengthen access to investment, expand strategic connections, and accelerate startup growth, consolidating Medellín as an innovation hub in Latin America.

- A shared stand with the Mayor’s Office of Medellín, offering an interactive brand experience and a StartIA activation to encourage platform registration.

-A meeting with 40 angel investors, who will take part in a startup valuation workshop and learn about the organization’s venture capital strategy, focused on initiatives such as Smart Capital, StartIA, and Launchmon.

-A networking space with investors and key ecosystem actors, where 40 guests will receive information about Ruta N’s venture capital strategy.

-20 startups strengthened by Ruta N will participate with their own stands and have the opportunity to access the event’s investment rounds.

-30 startups from the Medellín Next 2026 program will take part in Endeavor’s Expert Meetings to connect with ecosystem experts.

-Four scaleups from the Top 5 of Medellín Next 2025 will lead technical roundtables to share their experience with other entrepreneurs.

-Two workshops with NVIDIA and AWS on artificial intelligence applied to business, aimed at startups from its programs.

-A fundraising workshop for startups participating in the investment readiness program by Ruta N and Niilo.