The Eduardo Garza T. Innovation and Entrepreneurship HUB is part of the Tec’s strategy to strengthen the tech startup ecosystem in Mexico and Latin America.
An entrepreneur may have an idea, technical expertise, and even a working prototype.
The hard part usually comes later: finding legal counsel, approaching investors, or figuring out how to protect a patent.
The Eduardo Garza T. Innovation and Entrepreneurship HUB aims to bridge the gap between an idea and the tools needed to turn it into a business.
“The path of an entrepreneur is often a lonely one,” says HUB director Jessica Fonseca.
For Fonseca, having a support network helps entrepreneurs refine their projects and overcome the obstacles in their way.
The space will bring together co-working spaces, labs, mentoring, and specialized partners for technology-based projects and startups. It will also have links to researchers, programs, and laboratories on the Monterrey Campus and Expedition FEMSA, which are part of the Monterrey Innovation District (DIM, acronym in Spanish).
With this model, the District aims to increase the number of startups in the area from 200 to 600 and triple the number of tech jobs over the next few years.
What startups and entrepreneurs will find at the Eduardo Garza T. Innovation and Entrepreneurship HUB
The purpose of the HUB is to provide entrepreneurs with a single location where they can access infrastructure, guidance, and do the networking they need to grow their business.
- For those just getting started, there will be a co-working space with the capacity for up to sixty startups to work at the same time.
- Startups that have already gained traction and are generating revenue can set up shop in one of the eighteen Startup Garages, which are private offices designed for later-stage projects.
- For science- and technology-based projects, the space will provide support and intellectual property agreements right off the bat.
For biotechnology projects, the building will feature the BioWorkshop, a biosafety level 2 laboratory designed for this type of venture.
“Getting into the HUB will be easier than it appears to be,” says Ulrick Noel, Director of the Eugenio Garza Lagüera Institute of Entrepreneurship.
“All you have to do is turn up at the building’s front desk and ask for information,” says Noel.
Entrepreneurs can then sign up for the program that best suits their project’s needs and development stage.
The HUB’s backing
Support for entrepreneurs and startups will be provided by the Eugenio Garza Lagüera Institute of Entrepreneurship, which will have its headquarters at the HUB.
“Currently, the Institute is working with approximately four hundred early-stage projects and more than one hundred startups offering technology-based products and services in Monterrey,” explains Noel.
From that community, the HUB will launch with twenty tech-based startups that have already participated in programs linked to the Monterrey Innovation District.
The space will also offer incubation, mentoring, and consulting programs for technology-intensive projects.
Why the HUB is part of the Monterrey Innovation District
laboratories specializing in applied research.
For HUB director Fonseca, the building serves as a meeting place within that ecosystem where entrepreneurs, researchers, and partners can collaborate on innovative projects.
That collaboration, adds DIM director Edgar Muñiz, is the result of a vision that has been developed since 2018 by universities, industry, government, and entrepreneurs.
“Nowadays, innovation doesn’t happen in a single institution or follow a linear process,” explains Muñiz. “It occurs in collaborative ecosystems.”
Connections that turn into real opportunities
Part of the community the HUB seeks to create has already started gathering around Venture Café, a global initiative that originated in Kendall Square, Boston, which organizes meetings between entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, and partners in the innovation ecosystem.
Venture Café is currently running activities as part of EXPEDITION FEMSA and will also be at the HUB every two weeks.
Mario Adrián Flores, General Director of the Monterrey Campus, explains that these events will attract between 200 and 300 people to discuss topics such as artificial intelligence, water, air quality, and food.
These spaces bring together startups, investment funds, intellectual property specialists, and other stakeholders who usually work alone.
Otoniel Rodríguez showed up at one of these gatherings with no intention of looking for a partner. He attended an artificial intelligence workshop one Thursday night, just like any other member of the community.
There he met someone who had access to technology he didn’t have. But he did have the marketing channels.
Today, both companies import and distribute artificial-intelligence powered lamps in Mexico that can track inventory on store and supermarket shelves in real time.
The collaboration was not born in a formal incubator or come from a structured accelerator program. It came up in a conversation in the community that is forming around the HUB.
Connections being made around the HUB have also begun to attract startups and investment funds to the ecosystem.
AIndez, a Chilean startup that develops artificial intelligence tools to automate tasks and manage teams, came to Monterrey thanks to this network of partners. The company took on two Tec students and now operates a branch with funding from Austin, Texas.
“These are synergies that are beginning to take place with stakeholders who are independent of the Tec but belong to the community,” says Flores.
According to IEEGL Director Noel Ulrick, the HUB aims to attract entrepreneurs from Mexico and Latin America who are interested in developing technology-based projects with the potential to grow from Monterrey.
He goes on to say that the goal is to build a community where those connections can lead to new businesses, partnerships, and opportunities for innovation.
The challenge of creating more tech startups in Mexico
According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Global Innovation Index 2025, Mexico is the third most innovative economy in Latin America. That being said, the country spends just 0.27% of its GDP on science and technology, less than half of what it spent a decade ago.
Moreover, 82% of the value of Mexican exports is not generated by domestic sources.
Mario Adrián Flores comments that with the HUB initiative they hope to encourage companies to invest more in innovation and technology.
“It may not be enough to significantly boost GDP in terms of research and development, but we’re going to start seeing some growth and, above all, foster a new culture of private-sector investment,” says the general director of Monterrey campus.
The gap between scientific expertise and entrepreneurship also poses a challenge. According to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Lab study Deep Tech: The New Wave, Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia account for 87% of Latin America’s researchers. However, these three countries together only generate 44% of the region’s science-based startups.
Flores notes that there are already scientific projects underway within the HUB ecosystem, such as the School of Engineering’s center for electric and autonomous mobility, which focuses on meeting the demand for automotive components in Mexico.
He explains that initiatives like this aim to promote science-based companies and increase the percentage of Mexican-made products in the country’s exports.
Moreover, capital is already on the move. According to Reuters, investment in Latin American startups grew by 26% in 2024 and hit $4.2 billion.
The IDB Lab also estimates that venture capital focused on science-based technology has the potential to grow twentyfold over the next decade.
For the director, this represents an opportunity to strengthen the tech entrepreneurship ecosystem that the Monterrey Innovation District is trying to build.
“And Monterrey could become a hub where research, scientific development, and technology-based startups come together,” adds the campus director.
But the idea is for connections to extend beyond Nuevo León as well. Flores notes that the HUB and the DIM could collaborate with other districts supported by the Tec in Mexico City and Querétaro.
Tlalpan District is home to a significant portion of the country’s applied health research, while DistritoQro works on projects related to sustainable agri-food systems.
“What we need to look for are synergies between districts because there may be startups in Monterrey that would be more suited to Mexico City, or some in Mexico City that might do better here in Monterrey,” he explains.
It can take from fifteen to twenty years for an innovation district to become established. But the Monterrey Campus, EXPEDITION FEMSA, and now the HUB have already begun to build a collaborative network for entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, and companies.
Flores emphasizes that the goal of the three buildings (and the District itself) is to become a one-stop shop where entrepreneurs can find the resources they need to develop their projects even if they are not yet familiar with topics like intellectual property or venture capital.
“Connecting with these stakeholders will allow us to keep on building bridges for the development of new projects,” he concludes.
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