Quintana Roo to Host Startup World Cup Semifinal for First Time

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Quintana Roo will host a semifinal round of the Startup World Cup for the first time on Thursday, bringing 10 startups together before a panel of business, tourism and innovation leaders.

The event will run from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Hyatt Centric Playa del Carmen. The winning startup will advance to the Mexico national final in Chihuahua, with a shot at the global final in Silicon Valley, California, where the champion can receive a $1 million angel investment from Pegasus Tech Ventures.

The semifinal is organized by Mayma, an NGO that represents the competition in Mexico through its Quintana Roo chapter. The group says it aims to connect the international contest with its work strengthening ‘triple impact’ businesses — companies that generate social, environmental and financial returns — and advancing a more inclusive, regenerative model of territorial development.

“We are starting to connect conversations that were long separated: entrepreneurship, investment, tourism, conservation and territorial development,” said Olmo Torres, director of Mayma in Mexico, in a press conference. “The challenge is not just creating startups, but creating companies that can grow and, in doing so, generate value for the territory.”

The judging panel includes representatives from strategic sectors in the state: Vanessa Peña of Original Group; Vicente Ferreyra of Sustentur; businessman Eduardo Castillo; Lyn Santos, destination stewardship director; Amy Jones of MARFund/MAR+Invest; Valeria Rinderstma, president of Amexme Riviera Maya; Sergio León of Americas Alliance; Ignacio Muñoz of Sarga-Tech and The Seas We Love; and Paul Carrillo, Quintana Roo’s secretary of economic development.

“For Mayma, the importance of this gathering goes beyond a pitch competition,” said Carlos Segura, a member of the organizing team. “It represents an opportunity to bring the entrepreneurial talent of the Mexican Caribbean closer to national and international networks of investment, innovation and growth, while strengthening a business ecosystem linked to the real challenges of the territory.”

The event is part of Mayma’s broader “Escalar el Impacto” agenda in Quintana Roo, which includes accelerating triple-impact ventures, developing resilient local value chains and building a regenerative tourism vision.