Normality Is the Antithesis of Innovation

After two years of virtual summits, on Oct. 6 we met in person again to celebrate the Entrepreneurial Summit 2022 of the Association of Entrepreneurs of Mexico (ASEM). The central theme was "Women as the engine of the economy.”

The event, held at Centro University, had mainly female speakers from business chambers, entrepreneurs and representatives of the public sector. I presented the 2020-2022 Activity Report, two years that marked everyone’s history in many ways and that also represented great challenges for ASEM. I will give myself permission to share in this space some relevant points from my speech.

Those who know me know that there are three pillars of my work for Mexico: health, entrepreneurship and gender equality. I believe they have an unprecedented importance in our world today. 

“Normality is the antithesis of innovation”

I read this phrase in the book The Gene, by oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee, and it really spoke to me because it reflects very well what we have experienced in recent years. I shared it for the first time in October 2020, when I took office as President of the Board of ASEM in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented health challenge that altered all spheres of human activity. Now, it seems powerful to me to take it up again, thinking about how much we have learned and changed. Our collective memory will never be able to forget the heroes and heroines of this humanitarian crisis:

• Health professionals. For those who gave their lives to save the lives of all of us, for that painful first place in the world in regard to deaths of health workers and for the more than 700,000 Mexicans who lost their lives during the pandemic, I ask for a moment of silence.

• The entrepreneurs. Responsible for creating and sustaining 99.2 percent of the country's companies, creating 80 percent of formal jobs and contributing 40 percent of GDP. Men and women who had to reinvent themselves, accelerate technology adoption and in many cases, start over.

• Women. Of the 2.4 million jobs that we lost, 70 percent were theirs. They also take care of 97 percent of the patients, of the children without schools, of the elderly, and of people who live with disabilities.

At ASEM, we understood that true to our entrepreneurial spirit, it was time to get to work with greater intensity: without empty speeches, without confrontation, with facts and building effective bridges of communication where others began to polarize and build barriers.

It has been an honor to lead this organization in which I have actively participated since its foundation because I share the conviction of entrepreneurship, of companies as agents of social transformation. ASEM is possible thanks to our members, our Board, and the extraordinary operational team led by Jorge Corral, our Executive Director, without whom none of the initiatives would be possible.

I will share highlights of our six lines of work that summarize our efforts to improve the conditions that entrepreneurs face in Mexico:

• Information: At the ASEM library, the Entrepreneur's Legal Manual (1st and 2nd edition) stands out. It offers all the steps to become a formal entrepreneur: statutes, types of legal entities, labor matters, intellectual property, trademark registration and contract formats. We know that it is a great tool not only for entrepreneurs, but also for educational institutions, students and other stakeholders.

• Research: Knowing the reality of entrepreneurs to support them is vital. That is why in 2020 we presented The Entrepreneurship X-ray, a primary research project that makes the perspective of company founders visible. This document shows details of their personal and business profile, digital presence, sources of investment and financing, the challenges that hinder their work, as well as the perceptions about the ecosystem at a state and national level. We have already accumulated more than 5,000 downloads, becoming a reference document for entrepreneurs, universities, the media and decision-makers in the public sector. Additionally, last month, we presented the special edition on Women, which particularly excites me because of the importance of our role in the economy. Next year, in addition to X-ray, we will work on studies by sector and by state entity.

• Training: We have developed robust, free training programs with concrete results. We held more than 150 activities when more than 100,000 entrepreneurs received tools and knowledge for the development of their businesses. These programs have also achieved great importance not only in our country, but in Latin America. An example of this is the "Whatsapp Friday" program that we lead hand in hand with META from Mexico to Colombia, Peru and Argentina.

• Networking: We continue to promote convergence spaces for synergies. We have a Commercial Portal, a space to promote the exchange of products and services in the community. We launched the “100 Entrepreneurs of Mexico” (E-100) initiative to recognize those who represent the spirit of Mexican companies, using formality to promote the growth of the country. In the 2021 edition, we received +2,000 applications and +12,000 votes. Forty percent of the winners were women. We also made Mexico City the venue for the prestigious event “PRODEM,” for the first time in its 11-year history. This seminar united +300 professionals from 14 countries, 50% of whom participated digitally. Eighty-five percent of the participants are still in contact with colleagues they met in the event and 50 percent have developed joint initiatives. Finally, we have begun to work on the creation of regional chapters and we will continue to strengthen the international network through ASELA (Association of Latin American Entrepreneurs), which already represents more than 250,000 entrepreneurs and in which ASEM is a protagonist. 

• Public Policies: Our work agenda is based on the 10 key topics that were selected in a collective effort of our members, strategic allies and experts. We have made significant progress through the creation of the Simplified Action Society (SAS), which enables entrepreneurs to create a company online,  in 24 hours and for free. We are now devoting our efforts to make the Timely Payment project a law, so that entrepreneurs no longer face payments of 90, 120 or even 180 days. Additionally, we are participating in work groups to design the Law of Social Enterprises. Regarding initiatives specifically for women entrepreneurs, this month we will start, in collaboration with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the Eugenio Garza Lagüera Entrepreneurship Institute of TEC de Monterrey, a research project to design a public-private agenda to promote female entrepreneurship.

• Membership: In addition to our work toward structural change, we offer our members a wide range of benefits that make it easier and less expensive to develop a business. In coordination with companies in the financial, technology and service sectors, we add value to our 33,817 entrepreneurs, 9,748 of whom are women and 43% have joined in the last two years. We are already the largest community of entrepreneurs, but we need to continue growing to secure better representation. Together we are stronger!

Thank you again for your trust, the opportunity to lead our organization into the future and the privilege of working together to make our country the best place to run a business.