Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) generate more than 70% of the jobs in the country and more than half of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), so that governments, corporations, financial entities and society in general , they must establish a collaborative ecosystem for simultaneous development.
However, for Constantino Matouk, Global VP of Bimbo Ventures, SMEs do not only represent a source of work, they go further by becoming the starting point of innovation, due to their flexibility and agile response capacity to changes in consumption habits or the adoption of trends.
As an example of this, he added, in terms of technology they can create relevant value offers, not only to support their own development, but to leverage the relationship they establish with large corporations. This is achieved through the benefit of cooperating with each other and promptly responding to issues that corporations are unable to address.
During his participation in the virtual panel, within the framework of the Inter.Mx Expansión Summit 2022, Matouk referred to said business linkage as a win-win, from Grupo Bimbo’s vision of supporting entrepreneurship.
“By investing in the growth of startups , at Bimbo Ventures, we gain a lot. To mention an example, we find opportunities with those that are generating technological solutions, ingredients for our products or making contributions in terms of supply, consumer understanding or new channels, everything related to our value chain”, he explained.
In this way, the panelist pointed out, an advantage for SMEs is that they can establish longer-term collaborative relationships. Today, the group has a portfolio of 37 companies, with direct investments. By accompanying them on their entrepreneurial journeys, they support them by opening doors, mentoring them and advising them to analyze the possibilities of their business models.
Additionally, Bimbo has found a way to favor small and medium-sized companies by becoming a validator of their technologies, making contributions to support their projects, “because there is much that they can contribute and that they contribute.”
Constantino Matouk defined the area he leads as a team of strategic investors who have devised the dynamics to work together, “a bridge between the corporate and small startups that know how to see things in a different way.” At the same time, they inject that innovative spirit into the baking company.
To conclude his speech at the Inter.Mx Expansión Summit 2022, the Global VP of Bimbo Ventures reiterated that “Mexico’s development lies in the development of SMEs”, so promoting them is the responsibility of all the actors in the system, from all angles.
“We have to find a way to support them, because the small and medium-sized companies of today will become the corporations of tomorrow. Without a doubt, the large corporations were born as SMEs and the only way for the economy to continue advancing is with them moving forward”, he determined.
Click to know the vision of the panelists who were part of the dialogue table: .
