Medellín Venture Client will select up to five proposals to pilot solutions.
Ruta N has opened the call for the first edition of Medellín Venture Client, a program designed to connect solution providers with large companies to implement innovative pilots that address business challenges. The initiative, developed in partnership with the private sector, is aimed at local, national, and international stakeholders interested in validating and scaling their technological developments in real business environments.
“The program responds to a structural need within the innovation ecosystem: while many startups have high-potential solutions, they face barriers in accessing clients that allow them to test these solutions in real-world scenarios. At the same time, large companies require more agile mechanisms to innovate, reducing time, costs, and risks in the implementation of new technologies,” said Ruta N’s Executive Director, Carolina Londoño.
The call is open to legal entities such as startups, scaleups, research groups, and technology development centers that have solutions aligned with specific challenges in areas such as transport and salt exports, water purification, logistics, user experience, industrial bio-shielding, smart and traceable management for packaging and labeling, and quality. Applicants must also meet requirements such as annual revenues starting at $200,000 and a minimum Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 7, validated in real market environments.
The program, which will be operated by Estratek, will select up to five solution providers who will work directly with partner companies on the development of pilot projects. They will have access to financial resources allocated to the experimentation phase.
The application process is open until May 19 at rutannmedellin.org, followed by the evaluation and selection stage. Subsequently, the pilot projects will be carried out, along with a Demo Day where the results achieved will be presented.
“Open innovation is very important to us because, more than a trend, it is a strategic necessity to access new resources, new knowledge, and develop new solutions to the various challenges we face alongside external partners,” said Sebastián Arrubla, Head of Corporate Projects and Innovation at Incolmotos Yamaha.
With Medellín Venture Client, the organization continues to create opportunities to strengthen startups and encourage more corporations to join this strategy.
Over the past year, Ruta N has connected more than 10 corporations with startups through open innovation challenges, demonstrating the potential of these types of programs to energize the ecosystem and generate opportunities for joint growth.
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