German Centre Mexico joined forces with several partners to host the first I² Innovation Camp in 2023. Thus, it provided a dynamic platform for its resident companies to collaborate with startups and for the latter to get access to its extensive professional network and physical innovation hub.

Digital and sustainable transformation is one of the big business challenges every company is dealing with these days, and our customers in German Centre Mexico are no exemption to that. Those companies have a lot in common: a need for new skills and a lack of resources on the one hand, and a lot of pioneer spirit on the other. A partnership with a tech startup therefore is the way to go for many of them.

Beumer Group, global machinery industry leader from Northwest Germany, has teamed up with Berlin-based startup Holocene to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its operations. Furthermore, it supports Holocene`s expansion at their offices in the German Centre Mexico.

Holocene’s mission is to bring stability and predictability to the volatile cross-border Supply Chain by leveraging top-notch cloud & AI technologies for Trade & Customs Compliance. For Beumer, this is the perfect match, because

Beumer’s approach is a best practice example of how working together with a startup can drive digital transformation for companies and corporates. And it inspired us at German Centre Mexico to set up the I² Innovation Camp, a platform to connect key stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem by means of B2B networking and information on best practices.

Over the course of three months, more than 250 international participants exchanged ideas, built connections, and learned about best practices by expert speakers. Thereby, the I² Innovation Camp created an innovation community focused on sustainability and Industry 4.0 that leads itself to future initiatives with meaningful impact.

Nick Junge, Business Development Manager of German Centre Mexico: ”We are proud that we were able to bring all these people from different backgrounds together. 14 of our local client companies participated and representatives of more than 30 public and private organisations. From the start-up scene, 45 startups were involved, ten of which put their focus on climate solutions. Moreover, in the hybrid format we welcomed participants from all over Latin America, Germany, Switzerland, and Singapore.“

German automotive supplier Continental was among the participating corporates. In an insightful lecture, Head of Digital Transformation for México and Central America, David Acosta, talked about innovation and digital transformation. He outlined why a well-balanced business plan is the key to success and sums up the path to success as follows “Understand the challenge. Point the horizon. Identify a realistic opportunity. Discover. Analyze. And never forget that internal digital transformation is more about PEOPLE than technology”

With more than 130 companies under one roof, attractive office space in a prime location and a valuable business network, German Centre Mexico is the perfect address for smart products and solutions “Made in Germany“. The I² Innovation Camp, demonstrated that this statement is not limited to traditional German SMEs and corporates. Young entrepreneurs, especially those with a B2B focus, find an inspiring innovation hub here with a creative atmosphere, a number of potential business partners and a lot of knowledge and advice to benefit from.

German Centre Mexico has a proven expertise in providing the framework for such an event. This is not only due to the market knowledge and event management skills of our team. Additionally, our strong network of corporates, service providers and industry experts has been a valuable source to bring the right people and businesses together.

To connect with young entrepreneurs and topical experts, we collaborated with impactful startup accelerators, such as German Entrepreneurship.

The groundwork for future collaborations has been set and while we are writing this blog, a lot is going behind the scenes. Stay tuned for more news!