To strengthen the Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) ecosystem in Medellín, Ruta N has launched a call for its Open Innovation Service. This program connects large companies, which have identified corporate and technological challenges, with startups and research groups that can become strategic partners and solution providers.
Interested companies can register at www.info.rutanmedellin.org/iahome until May 9. Public and private entities, foundations, multinationals, and other organizations with identified corporate and technological challenges are eligible to participate.
“We invite large companies to present their needs so we can invigorate the ecosystem, find STI-based solutions, and enable startups to grow while connecting big companies with innovation and technological development,” explained Carlos Londoño, Portfolio Manager of Transform at Ruta N.
Selected companies will receive specialized support for defining and structuring their challenge and must designate a work team (minimum three people) to develop the methodology, define the challenge profile, and attend meetings with potential solution providers.
"We set the goal of automating our review of availability and prices for hotel services. The results were excellent. We met many companies and found one that provided the solution we needed, allowing us to scale and grow automatically," shared Rafael Peláez, Development and Innovation Manager at Viajes Éxito.
After a three-and-a-half-month cycle, participating companies will move on to meetings and workshops to connect with startups and research groups capable of developing custom solutions.
Since 2020, the Open Innovation Service has published 140 challenges, facilitated over 1,000 connections between 113 challenger companies and 867 solution providers, and completed 35 successful business cases.