Greg Pogue builds connections in Ecuador

Dr. Gregory Pogue of the IC² Institute delivered a plenary lecture in July at the Second International Congress of Innovation and Development in Quito, Ecuador.

In his talk he detailed the IC² Institute’s experience building and operationalizing innovation ecosystems for the benefit of local economies. The IC² Institute has experience fostering entrepreneurial networks in Portugal, Mexico, India, South Korea, Turkey, and Colombia, among many other emerging countries.

During his time in Ecuador, Greg met with the Vice President of Ecuador, Jorge Glas, and with leading government agencies and universities to seek actionable collaboration with the public, private and academic sectors to build a nationwide entrepreneurial ecosystem in Ecuador. He provided interviews to local and national newspapers, radio programs and TV broadcasters.

In collaboration with Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL) Greg visited Guayaquil, where he met with representatives of the Rector’s Office, Entrepreneurship Center, IDEA Network, and the ESPAE Graduate School of Management. While in Guayaquil, Greg held discussions with entrepreneurs, faculty and leadership about how Ecuador’s initiatives to change the productive matrix could be the catalyst to form an active and valuable entrepreneurial ecosystem through:

• Involving business experts, innovators, and service providers;
• Building an entrepreneurial network through trust-based connections with involvement of Ecuador’s leading students; and
• Educating key researchers, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders how new ideas are transformed into business value.

It is hoped that a broad collaboration in Ecuador will emerge from these discussions.

For more information:

Expreso.ec: “El éxito en innovación es proporcional a la inversión”

Startup Nations: Ecuadorian Ecosystem Visited by IC2′S Gregory Pogue

Slideshare: Building and Growing Innovation Ecosystems