At the SPIDER Final Conference “Digital Transformation Beyond Borders” in Bonn on 15 April 2026, the EU–LAC Digital Accelerator was presented as a practical model for cross-regional digital collaboration. The event brought together key stakeholders to explore how innovation can drive cooperation and sustainable development between Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
Rubén Carrandi, representing European Business and Innovation Centre Network (EBN), contributed to the panel on “EU–LAC Digital Transformation: Cooperation and Key Lessons.” His intervention focused on a recurring issue. Most corporate-startup collaborations fail due to misalignment, weak governance, and unclear business cases.
He positioned the EU–LAC Digital Accelerator as a structured response to these barriers. By connecting corporates with startups and SMEs, and supporting them through targeted acceleration services, the programme helps transform shared challenges into pilot-ready and investment-ready solutions. He also highlighted concrete success stories, showing how structured collaboration can accelerate the move from concept to market.
The session reinforced a clear point. Digital transformation depends less on ideas and more on execution. Open innovation delivers results only when backed by clear processes, aligned incentives, and a defined path to scale. This is where the EU–LAC Digital Accelerator focuses its role.
