In a context of accelerating technological change and an increasing need for job creation and innovation, there is growing international interest in developing ecosystems that enable dynamic and productive entrepreneurship. At the same time, cities have taken center stage as key arenas for fostering entrepreneurship. Advancing this development is a complex undertaking—one that demands strategic, collective intelligence.

According to the International Network of Territorial Intelligence, collective intelligence enables informed decision making and the creation of a development agenda based on the production and exchange of information, knowledge, valuable experiences, and best practices.

Against this backdrop, GEIAL –the Latin American Group of Smart Ecosystems– was established to build collective intelligence for the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems by measuring and comparing the conditions for entrepreneurship and monitoring their evolution. This is done using a solid conceptual framework and a proven methodology, as well as by fostering a community space for sharing knowledge, information, contacts, and experiences among peers.

This report on entrepreneurial dynamics reflects cutting-edge thinking in guiding the construction of entrepreneurial ecosystems. It offers business and policy leaders a clear compass for understanding their current position and the steps they need to take to build world-class ecosystems.

David B. Audretsch
Distinguished Professor and Director of the Institute for Development Strategies at Indiana University, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Small Business Economics. An Entrepreneurship Journal

GEIAL is one of the best practices I know in collective learning –it is generating intelligence across ecosystems in many cities in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Peru, and Mexico. This enables not only learning within entrepreneurial ecosystems but also learning across them– which is learning squared!

Erik Stam
member of GEIAL’s International Advisory Board and Professor at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

GEIAL’s measurements, through city-specific reports and a regional comparative report, provide a compass for formulating better strategies and actionable agendas. These measurements offer evidence for action to local and extra-local stakeholders, governance bodies, and governments. In addition, various activities enable colleagues from different organizations within the GEIAL Community to exchange experiences, best practices, knowledge, and valuable contacts. The commitment to entrepreneurship and innovation is also recognized through the BID GEIAL Award, presented by the Inter-American Development Bank together with GEIAL.

Currently, the GEIAL Community brings together nearly 30 ecosystems of various sizes, home to around 80 million people: Antofagasta, La Serena- Coquimbo, Santiago, Concepcion, and Valparaiso in Chile; Barranquilla, Manizales, Medellin, and Cali in Colombia; Quito, Guayaquil, Loja, Cuenca, Riobamba, and Ibarra in Ecuador; Lima and Huancayo in Peru; Cordoba, Rio Cuarto, Villa Maria, and Rafaela in Argentina; Tijuana, Queretaro, and Monterrey in Mexico; Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic; São Paulo in Brazil; and Montevideo in Uruguay. The group comprises nearly 100 organizations that directly or indirectly involve around 1,000 key actors.

GEIAL includes government bodies and their agencies, business entities and companies, universities, support organizations for entrepreneurs, and ecosystem governance structures.

This geographic and organizational diversity makes GEIAL an essential platform for anyone interested in Latin America’s dynamic and innovative entrepreneurship landscape.