Temu, the global e-commerce platform, and Startup Valencia, a private, non-profit organisation working to strengthen Valencia’s technology and innovation ecosystem, today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore how digital commerce can support innovative companies as they scale and access new markets.
The partnership brings together two complementary strengths: Startup Valencia’s role in connecting, from Valencia, more than 3,000 startups and scaleups with investors, corporations, talent and international partners, and Temu’s digital marketplace and growing network of local sellers. Together, the organisations will explore initiatives that provide entrepreneurs with practical knowledge about digital commerce and new opportunities to reach customers in Spain and international markets.
The collaboration will focus on entrepreneurship, innovation, digital commerce and internationalisation, including knowledge-sharing activities, workshops and opportunities for members of Startup Valencia’s community to better understand how digital channels can contribute to commercial growth and access to new markets.
Through more than 100 meetings and conversations with business organisations and other stakeholders, Temu has identified three recurring challenges for smaller businesses seeking to grow through digital commerce: complexity, cost and connection. For startups and scaleups whose products and business models can benefit from digital commerce, these challenges can become particularly relevant as they move from developing an innovative product to commercialising it, reaching customers and entering new markets.
The partnership with Startup Valencia will create opportunities to address these challenges through practical knowledge-sharing, greater understanding of digital commerce channels and connections across Valencia’s technology and innovation ecosystem.
For startups and scaleups, achieving product-market fit is only one part of the growth journey. Developing effective routes to customers and accessing new markets can also play an important role in transforming innovative ideas into scalable businesses. By connecting Valencia’s technology and entrepreneurial ecosystem with expertise and opportunities in digital commerce, the partnership aims to support companies with ambitions to grow beyond their home market.
“Valencia has a solid, connected tech ecosystem with growing international ambition,” said Nacho Mas, CEO of Startup Valencia and VDS. “This agreement with Temu is an important step in connecting startups and scaleups with new opportunities and supporting their growth in international markets.”
Founded in 2017, Startup Valencia is a private, non-profit organisation that connects, from Valencia, more than 3,000 startups and scaleups with global capital, international talent and strategic partnerships across Europe and the Americas. Its community includes more than 50,000 professionals, and the organisation promotes more than 200 activities and events each year focused on innovation, collaboration and business growth. Startup Valencia also organises VDS, one of Europe’s leading international technology events, which brings together startups, investors, corporations, institutions and technology leaders in Valencia.
“Valencia is home to a highly dynamic innovation ecosystem, with founders building companies with increasingly international ambitions,” said a Temu spokesperson. “We see an important opportunity to connect that entrepreneurial energy with the possibilities offered by digital commerce. Through our partnership with Startup Valencia, we want to give innovative companies new ways to understand digital channels, reach customers and explore opportunities for growth beyond Spain.”
Temu launched in Spain in 2023 and has since expanded its engagement with local consumers and businesses. Through its Local Seller Programme, Spanish companies can sell directly on Temu and use the platform as an additional channel to reach customers in Spain and international markets.
According to Temu’s 2026 Small Business Survey, 25% of Spanish sellers surveyed said they had already expanded into new international markets through the platform, while 52% said they had expanded some aspect of their business since joining Temu.
