For many technology entrepreneurs and startups, CES is where dreams are born. It’s the place where their concepts and products are showcased to the masses for the first time ever, all with the hope to make a dent in one of the most thriving industries at the moment.
Over the past 12 years, that’s been the case for Manuel Gutiérrez Novelo, a 47-year-old Mexican entrepreneur and inventor who has been attending the show since the ’00s. Gutierrez has launched a number of products throughout the years at CES, including what he calls the world’s “first” virtual reality viewer connected to a computer in 2006.
CES 2018 Las Vegas (Photo: Global Media IT)
But CES 2018 was slightly different for Gutiérrez-Novelo. This year, he took on the task of bringing 20 of Mexico’s best startups to the show, as part of a project created in cooperation with the country’s government dubbed Mexico 4.0. It all began at last year’s CES, where he came across a Mexican official at the event who was taken aback by the fact that Gutiérrez’ company, Angel Inventum, was the only one from Mexico with a presence at the show. That led officials to ask him how they could help more entrepreneurs from Mexico showcase their work at CES.
The answer to that question was simple: They needed resources like money and, most importantly, a way to find the best talent in a country with almost 128 million people. Gutiérrez-Novelo said he worked with three government agencies, including INADEM (National Institute of Entrepreneurs of Mexico), which provides financial support to entrepreneurs and small-to-medium-sized businesses in the country. After months of conversations, what transpired was Mexico 4.0, a program designed to help inventors create companies, produce, market and export their technologies, as well as attract funding for them both in Mexico and internationally.
Gutiérrez-Novelo said there were about 2,300 applications from startups and other “well-established” firms all across Mexico, but only 20 were selected to make the trip to Las Vegas for CES 2018.
CES LAs Vegas 2018 (Photo: globalmediait.com)
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Source: Yahoo News
