Bizkaia Attracts Latin American Entrepreneurs with its Industrial Ecosystem

Entrepreneurs from Peru and Mexico choose Bizkaia to develop their startups, highlighting the region's support and opportunities.

Generic image of business collaboration and entrepreneurship.
IA

Generic image of business collaboration and entrepreneurship.

Bizkaia has become a magnet for Latin American entrepreneurs, including Benjamín Oscco and Alfonso Velázquez, who have chosen the region to develop their startups, leveraging a robust industrial ecosystem and strong support for entrepreneurship.

Peruvian entrepreneur Benjamín Oscco, after arriving in Bizkaia for a master's degree, developed the idea of transforming plastic waste from electronic devices into sustainable boards. After eight months of consolidating his project in Lima, his decision to return to Bizkaia was firm, driven by the region's industrial ecosystem and support for entrepreneurship. "There is a lot of support here," he states, aware of the intense work required to coordinate activities across continents to sustain his own project.

"I was clear that I wanted to come back. There is a lot of support here. The value of building something of your own is incalculable."

Benjamín Oscco · Entrepreneur
A similar path was taken by Alfonso Velázquez, who left Mexico City's Estadio Azteca to expand his company Witlab in Bizkaia. Witlab specializes in industrial cleaning based on biotechnology and green chemistry. "A company has to be where the opportunities are," explains Velázquez. Despite the intense work pace, his impression of the entrepreneurial ecosystem is very positive. "The quality of life has surprised me," he emphasizes.

"A company has to be where the opportunities are. The quality of life has surprised me."

Alfonso Velázquez · Witlab Founder
In the last decade, Bizkaia has seen the creation of 431 startups, with over 300 still active, boasting a survival rate of 77%, well above the national average. This positions Bizkaia as an attractive hub for entrepreneurial talent from other communities and countries, fostering private collaboration through sectoral clusters and networking. Entrepreneurship demands time, effort, and constant adaptation, and Bizkaia provides an environment that facilitates project development and the management of uncertainty.