Venture Client SOFOFA Hub is an alliance of six global corporations that have joined to accelerate innovation by scaling startups.
In partnership with six industry-leading global corporations, SOFOFA Hub launched Venture Client SOFOFA Hub program to accelerate innovation while scaling B2B startups in the region.
On Thursday, July 7, 2022, we launched this new program as part of the “Connections to grow” panel held at SOFOFA, where entrepreneurs and corporate executives discussed barriers and opportunities in building lasting partnerships between corporates and startups.
Industry market leaders Agrosuper, CMPC, CCU, Enel, Molymet, and PuCobre signed a new agreement to build this venture client alliance whose main goal is to build and scale solutions that power the next industrial breakthroughs.
Accelerate startup scaling
“Venture client model is based on a collaborative and learning model among corporate partners to promote work with startups and accelerate innovation”, said Alan García, Executive Director of SOFOFA Hub, who added that “we have designed a model, inspired in a successful case from Finland, that is based on the tackling the main barriers startups face when trying to acquire a new corporate client. The model sets a standard of good practices among partners during the testing and adoption cycle of innovative solutions, accelerating the process and also helping startups scale by acquiring a global corporation as a client.”
Revenue, growth, and commercial reputation
The program operates through six-month cycles, where corporate partners publish business opportunities on the program’s website, and startups can then register and submit their solutions. SOFOFA Hub leads the process of recruiting and selecting the best-fit solutions with its partners for a 3-month proof-of-concept project that could lead to scaling a lasting partnership if expectations are met on both sides.
“Startups that register and submit their solutions will have a chance to acquire a new corporation as their client that can support their growth by generating fresh revenue flows and contributing to their commercial reputation”, added SOFOFA Hub’s Executive Director, who highlighted startups will also have “a chance to showcase their solution to all partner corporations if successful”.
This program is targeted at technology startups that have a product or service that has previously been tested in an industrial context and that are looking for ways to bootstrap their growth.