STUDY OF THE START-UP ECOSYSTEM IN LIMA, PERU: CHALLENGES ON THE WAY TO 2030

In context of global changes, literature indicates that the formation of new businesses boosts economy through new jobs and income for countries, as countries concerned with improving conditions for the future in their public policy consider entrepreneurship, innovation and the conditions for these phenomena to occur as important. In this situation, start-ups are important, made up of teams of very peculiar entrepreneurs because they innovate by giving rise to new technology-based companies with limited resources. According to the literature, start-ups are interdependent with a community of entrepreneurs, mentors, incubators, accelerators, common service providers, angel investors, venture capital investors, universities, public support entities, elements that form an ecosystem and this is links with other ecosystems. In previous investigations, first a multiple case study, it was found that from the perspective of the founders of start-ups, there is a presence of the different elements in the Lima ecosystem and in a subsequent investigation, based on the analysis of inter-organizational networks, Investors were found to be the most influential actors, besides the fact that universities and public institutions have a high link between them. The aim of this paper is to understand the challenges faced by the start-up ecosystem in Lima through the year 2030 and to be an initial input for policymakers; specifically, the importance and uncertainty of the activity in elements of the ecosystem, the occurrence of linked events, and the desired scenario might that should be materialize: a solid, mature, and attractive ecosystem for investors. Initially, the distinct elements of a technological entrepreneurship ecosystem are explained as well as the foresight theory. The methodology used is also exposed at the same time its process, which allows identifying the probable scenarios to understand the challenges to the year 2030 through foresight tools, especially applying the Delphi method in real time, to a sample of the founders of the start-ups. The findings identified the high importance of and uncertainty in the activity of angel and venture investors, and spending on R&D instruments, the most desirable scenario being the increase of both. This is the first foresight study applied at the level of a start-up ecosystem in a city of Peru, focused on the elements that make up it. It confirms the need to use long-term planning tools to project incentives for this kind of ecosystem and shows the usefulness of foresight study as a research instrument and a tool that policymakers can use to establish strategies that are more likely to impact these ecosystems.