The startup ecosystem in the country is made up of entrepreneurs, as well as angel investors, accelerators, among other actors.
Although the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor positions Peru in fifth place in the countries with the highest number of entrepreneurship at an early stage worldwide, it is also true that business mortality in the country is very high: in the second quarter of the 2019, 31,165 companies were down, compared to 72,365 new firms that were registered, according to INEI figures.
“One of each Peruvians starts a business in the country, but since most people do not have the tools, content and ways to carry out their ventures, they are self-taught; and the failure is very high”, Hugo Arévalo, president of ThePowerMBA, told El Comercio.
In this sense, according to figures from the business training school, 57.9% of Peruvian professionals have no knowledge of digital transformation, strategy, learn startup, agile methodologies, among others.
“Reaching three or five years, only 10% of the companies are still standing. And only about 6% [of the firms] manage to succeed, ”he added.
Ecosystem development
How developed is the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Peru? According to the Startup Friendliness Index (SFI), an index prepared by Enpact to measure the composition and maturity level of the local startup ecosystem, Lima is ranked 20th of the 44 countries considered in the study (led by Singapore with 67.2 points out of 100).
Of the six domains in the study, there is a greater delay in terms of infrastructure (high cost of coworking spaces) and the startup scene (number of accelerators below average).
With respect to human capital domains, it is an important challenge to close the human talent gaps. At this point, Arévalo believes that hiring in enterprises should be more efficient.
“It is important to hire quickly, and above all, if there is someone who does not work, relocate it in another part of the department, depending on the skills you have to add value. If it does not fit, it will have to be located in another company, ”he explains.
This challenge is greater when startups make that great leap to medium or large companies; and with that, there is the professionalization of the company, in the hands of hiring intermediate managers and senior management, so that all decisions no longer necessarily pass “through the hands of the founders”.
Also published on Medium.