The adventure began in 2014. That year, we were looking to reward companies that invoiced at least 1 million pesos per year (we were talking about high impact entrepreneurship). Let us remember that in those years (one before the launch of the first list) we had just had an economic growth in Mexico of 1.3%, and the dollar had a value between 12 and 13 pesos. At the end of 2013, the Mexican Congress approved the energy reform.

At that time, for 100 SMEs created, only 50 reached one year of life and 15 exceeded two years. According to Inegi data, in 2019 the average life expectancy of newly created settlements in Mexico was 8.4 years.

The first list recognized companies, at the time, of a still little known (and very new) activity, such as crowdfunding, a model that seeks to raise capital from various stakeholders to carry out a certain project. Fondeadora, a pioneer of this activity in Mexico (started in 2011), was one of the 30 promises on this list. At that time, they had a billing of 3.5 million pesos and had 50,000 users. In 2016, they sold the company to Kickstarter. It currently has over 400,000 users and is owned by Sofipo (People’s Financial Society) Multiple Support, and they issue debit cards.

Kubo Financiero was also on this first list. The company was born in 2012 and was one of the first fintech companies founded by a Mexican. At that time they were charging 2.5 million pesos. According to company information, in 2013 it received a license from the CNBV to operate as Sofipo. Today, it has more than 100,000 clients and has granted more than 85,000 loans for an amount exceeding 3,000 million pesos.

This first edition also included Clip, which started as a device to read credit cards and currently has eight products that make it easier for small and not-so-small businesses to accept card payments. In 2020, this company acquired PocketGroup Technologies (Swap), an electronic payment fund institution. Also part of this first generation are the companies Piel Canela, for leather goods, Maka México, goods made by indigenous women, and Euro Te, with more than 20 years of activity, among others.

For the 2015 edition, we made some changes. We ask that companies bill at least 3 million pesos per year and that they have been in operation for more than two years. At that time, 200 companies participated in the call. Part of this list included companies such as fashion brand Carla Fernández, which offers high fashion products while preserving the textile heritage of Mexico’s indigenous communities. This project has won awards such as the Design Visionary in 2018, the Prince Claus Award and Fashion Entrepreneur of the Year, among others. Remote health companies such as Grupo PTM (Raditech) were also rewarded, which is currently expanding its service offer to health professionals, particularly focused on radiology. It has over 5,000 users.

Other notable companies of this generation: Renovapack, which manufactures certified disposable products from biodegradable materials such as agave, sugar cane bagasse, corn and wheat starch, among others. Its customers: more than 500 restaurants, 250 hotels, more than 50 schools and canteens. It has more than 25 distributors. Helado Obscuro (alcoholic ice cream) only had two ice cream parlors; today it has branches in five states across the country. We do not leave aside the online and physical shoe store Loly in the Sky, the high-end thrift store Troquer; Petsy.mx (acquired in 2018 by +kota) and Beleki Brands (currently operating the Cinnabon franchise in Mexico, among others).

In 2016, we reached a call for 251 companies. This list included companies so far very relevant, such as Sheló Nabel (catalogue cosmetics company, now present in the United States and Colombia), Grupo Sohin (focused on the care of patients with chronic degenerative diseases), Ecoshell (manufacturer of biodegradable products), Zoé Water (sale of alkaline water) and GAIA Design (this omnichannel furniture sales company raised a funding round in 2021 for $15 million), among others.

Follow us on Google News to always stay informed

The year 2017 set a precedent: Daniel Undurraga, co-founder of Cornershop, appeared on the cover for the first time (we never imagined the relevance that this type of model would take on during the pandemic). The company was acquired by Uber in 2020. We also had a greater presence of companies from the finance, fintech and crowdfunding sectors, such as Financiera Contigo (focused, above all, on granting credit to women) which, in 2020, made its second placement of share certificates for 600 million pesos; and PlayBusiness (a crowdfunding platform that now offers different investment mechanisms), which has funded over 120 investment rounds, with an investment of over 500 million pesos. Other affected companies of this generation: SkyAlert (which offers seismic and other natural hazard warning solutions) has more than 450 enterprise customers and more than 10 million downloads (app); and BlueBox (a global corporate entrepreneurship firm). Currently, they help invest in startups and create new business models. Some of its clients: Essity, Sigma, ABInBev and Bimbo, among others.

In 2018, proptech companies were included for the first time in the list, such as Homie (it was even the first of its kind in Mexico), dedicated to real estate rental. The first logistics company to be part of this franchise was Sendengo (a freight allocation technology platform). Iconic firms such as Ben and Frank (sale of optical eyewear), Luuna (box mattress) and Klustera (which measures, activates and unifies the consumer experience for businesses) were part of this generation.

In subsequent editions, companies such as Boletia (a ticket sales platform for various events, which just turned 10 years old), Fitpass (an app/subscription to access unlimited classes in gyms and studios ) and VendeTuAuto.com (platform of compra -venta de autos), acquired by Frontier Car Group then merged with OLX Group, to create OLX Autos. This company is present in nine countries. Other big innovators were Moons (dental aligners), already with over 10,000 customers; Justo (the first fully online supermarket in Mexico); Minu (a platform that offers employees available salaries) and Albo (a fintech that grants debit cards from the Mastercard network).

The 2021 list also had a significant presence of innovative companies, such as Belvo (which offers products based on the analysis of millions of financial transactions), Monific (a hotel real estate crowdfunding company recently approved by the CNBV ), Flat.mx (buying and selling real estate online) and Momlancers (a company that helps create opportunities for women who have been mothers and wish to remain active in the working life with flexible hours).

E-commerce growth during the pandemic has nearly doubled. According to consulting firm EY Parthenon, it has reached an estimated value in Mexico of $11,000 million, which has opened up a great opportunity for logistics-related businesses. This was evident in the 2022 edition with companies such as YetCargo (a platform that connects carriers with businesses), Emissary (a accomplishment for e-commerce) MiEnvío.mx (a shipping management platform) and Cargamos (a network of delivery stations to guarantee deliveries the next day to companies).

And although entrepreneurship in Mexico faces significant challenges, such as access to financing, tax structure and labor costs, lack of preparation of entrepreneurs and bureaucracy, among others, according to Radiography of Entrepreneurship in Mexico 2021, carried out by ASEM, Entrepreneurs in Mexico don’t stop trying. It is not for nothing that SMEs represent 99.8% of businesses in the country.