Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — The civil association Mayma, which arrived in Quintana Roo two years ago to help entrepreneurs interested in sargasso utilization, has expanded its scope and now includes 83 businesses in strengthening and networking projects.
Association members announced at a press conference that Playa del Carmen will host a national semifinal of the Startup World Cup, a global entrepreneurship competition whose final will be held in Silicon Valley, California.
Olmo Torres, director of projects for Mayma Mexico, explained that the organization, which operates in 25 countries, came to Mexico in 2024 at the request of reviewing the entrepreneurship ecosystem around sargasso solutions. After the study, they identified a lack of support, leading to a two-year work proposal to address weak points.
One of the main shortcomings is a lack of knowledge about financing options, as well as insufficient understanding of each project’s needs to set goals and work plans. Mayma also served as a bridge connecting these businesses with major buyers, such as hotels, which can directly express their needs, and linking them with potential investors.
In the local ecosystem, they have detected a “lack of maturity” among those seeking to enter the market. For example, some businesses are too small to meet buyer demand. The appropriate solution would be to obtain financing with monthly payments based on the sales volume they expect to achieve.
Torres noted that even giants like Grupo Xcaret do not decapitalize themselves to build a new hotel but instead take out loans they know they can repay.
Currently, Mayma is advancing in five areas, including sargasso utilization, cultural tourism, coastal protection, and agroecological production, with 83 businesses already enrolled. These will be presented to buyers in a series of meetings scheduled for September.
The association has also launched a call for a three-month online financial course called “Escalar Impacto,” featuring specialists in the field.
Carlos Segura, project manager, revealed that they have contacted “Emprende Chihuahua,” an organization that in turn has an alliance with “Pegasus,” the company behind the Startup World Cup, where projects compete for a $1 million prize.
They have agreed to hold a national semifinal of this competition in Quintana Roo on August 27, where 10 entrepreneurs will pitch to experts. Only one will advance to the national final in Chihuahua, which precedes the world final in Silicon Valley, California. Several of the competing projects involve sargasso, while others are technology-focused.
Mario Robledo, director of “Sargazo Sandals,” a company that manufactures footwear made from sargasso, also spoke at the conference. The shoemaker from León said that with Mayma, he discovered parts of the business he had not considered but that are important to review and correct.
Also present were Manuel Paredes Mendoza, director of the Riviera Maya Hotel Association, and Valeria Rindertsma, president of the Mexican Association of Women Entrepreneurs in the Riviera Maya, who have joined as allies of this initiative to make local businesses more competitive so they can become suppliers.
