The Ibero-American Startup Forum is advancing its cooperation agenda to connect entrepreneurial ecosystems across Spain, Portugal, Latin America and Miami. Following two gatherings in Miami and Valencia, with further meetings scheduled in Lisbon and Santiago, Chile, the Forum is working to facilitate the international expansion of startups and promote joint projects and investments on both sides of the Atlantic.
Coinciding with the Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, taking place in Madrid on November 4 and 5, the Forum has outlined its priorities and upcoming activities. Its founding organisations are calling for innovative entrepreneurship to take centre stage in a renewed public-private Ibero-American agenda, recognising its contribution to economic growth and social well-being across the region.
The Forum provides a platform for coordination and collaboration among organisations already active in their respective ecosystems, without creating a new structure or replacing existing initiatives. Its aim is to enable entrepreneurs and investors seeking to expand across the Atlantic to rely on a shared network of trusted contacts and partners, rather than having to build those connections from scratch.
An Entrepreneur Passport to Facilitate International Expansion
The Forum’s first initiative is the Ibero-American Entrepreneur Passport. Rather than serving as an immigration document, it is designed to validate a startup’s track record through the endorsement of recognised organisations in its home country, making it easier to enter new markets.
The Forum is proposing a pilot programme involving 50 startups affiliated with its member organisations. The initiative will assess the difference between entering a new market with institutional endorsement and a local support network, compared with doing so independently.
The proposal also includes a network of trusted partners to welcome and support startups in each ecosystem, a platform mapping organisations on both sides of the Atlantic, and the Iberoamerican Startup Nation Standards (IBSS), a common measurement framework inspired by the Europe Startup Nations Alliance (ESNA).
From Miami and Valencia to Lisbon and Santiago, Chile
The Forum’s founding meeting took place in Miami on April 22, 2026, during a gathering organised by Disruptores Américas alongside eMerge Americas. Representatives from Argentina, Spain, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and the United States reached a shared conclusion: Ibero-American entrepreneurial ecosystems should make better use of their common languages and cultural ties to strengthen collaboration and work together more effectively.
The Forum was formally presented on October 22 at VDS in Valencia during the panel “Three Hubs, One Vision: The Iberoamerican Startup Frontier”, moderated by Agustín Baeza. Speakers included Paula Gialdi, President and Co-Founder of ASETEC; Gastón Metayer, Co-Founder of Vórtice; and José María Blasco, Executive Director for Growth and Competitiveness at ICEX, Spain’s leading organisation for internationalisation and attracting foreign investment.
The Forum will not have a permanent headquarters. Instead, it will bring its activities to major gatherings already taking place on both sides of the Atlantic. Its next sessions are scheduled for November 10 at Web Summit Lisbon and November 21 at EtM Day, organised by Emprende tu Mente in Santiago, Chile.
A New Framework for Cooperation
The Forum is working across two areas of cooperation. The first focuses on connecting entrepreneurial ecosystems and their organisations to strengthen trust among founders, investors and other stakeholders. Its objective is to support the growth of cross-border ventures, encourage co-investment among Latin American, Spanish and Portuguese investment funds, and foster collaboration between corporations and startups on both sides of the Atlantic.
The second seeks to establish a new framework for cooperation with institutions that finance and guide development across the region, including the Inter-American Development Bank, the European Union, CAF and other multilateral organisations and development cooperation agencies. The proposal calls for joint projects, stable institutional relationships and comparable data across both sides of the Atlantic.
To achieve this, the Forum considers it essential to develop an Ibero-American public policy agenda that gives greater priority to innovative entrepreneurship and works towards compatible regulatory frameworks across countries.
“Ibero-American startups have a tremendous opportunity to grow and expand by collaborating and working together. Sharing languages, cultures and ways of doing business is an asset that we have not yet fully leveraged”, said Agustín Baeza, President of the Ibero-American Startup Forum and Director of Public Affairs at VDS Scaleup Alliance.
The Organisations Behind the Forum
The Forum is spearheaded by VDS Scaleup Alliance and Startup Valencia (Spain), alongside ASETEC (Córdoba, Argentina) and Vórtice, which connects entrepreneurial ecosystems in Chile and the European Union.
Agustín Baeza, representing VDS Scaleup Alliance, serves as President of the Forum. Its Vice Presidents are Paula Gialdi, from ASETEC; Nacho Mas, from Startup Valencia; and Gastón Metayer and Marisel Rodríguez, from Vórtice.
Eight additional organisations have expressed an interest in joining: Latin American Startups Alliance (ALAS), URUCAP (Uruguay), Unicorn Factory Lisboa, Emprende tu Mente (Chile), Mana Tech (Miami), Grow, Dybo and U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce.
