Building Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Is Not About Doing More
by Featured Practitioner, Andrea Mazariegos
Entrepreneurial ecosystem building has become a familiar concept. We see accelerators, funds, policies, platforms, and programs launched across regions with real energy and good intentions. And yet, many ecosystems still struggle to move forward in a sustained and inclusive way.
The issue is rarely a lack of activity. More often, it is a lack of coherence. Ecosystems are not built by stacking initiatives. They evolve through a small number of well-timed actions that reduce friction, align incentives, and unlock collaboration across actors who do not naturally work together. This insight sits at the core of a new white paper developed from hands-on ecosystem-building experience across emerging markets. Instead of offering another checklist of best practices, it focuses on how real change happens when resources are limited, institutions are imperfect, and outcomes are hard to measure.
This paper looks at ecosystem building as systems work. It explores how builders decide where to intervene, how they maintain credibility with entrepreneurs and institutions while doing so, and how they explain impact when attribution is neither realistic nor honest. Most importantly, it speaks from a builder’s perspective. One shaped by negotiation, trust-building, trade-offs, and the quiet work that often matters most but is hardest to make visible. At a moment when capital is tighter and expectations are higher, ecosystem builders are being asked to deliver results without oversimplifying reality. This white paper offers a framework for thinking and talking about ecosystem work with greater clarity and integrity. If this perspective resonates, the conversation continues beyond the page.
An upcoming Ask-a-Builder session will provide an opportunity to discuss the ideas behind the paper, how they were developed, and how they can be applied in different contexts. It is designed as a practical exchange for people actively building, funding, or supporting entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Read the white paper.
Join the conversation.
Bring the hard questions.
Building ecosystems is complex, but it should not be opaque.
Andrea Mazariegos is an ecosystem builder based in Guatemala. In 2023, Andrea presented her ecosystem model, the Mazariegos FLOW model, at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress. Since then, she has further developed the model to share with the global ecosystem building community. While she works as a regional development finance director at Swiss Contact in her full-time role, Andrea is also enrolled at Said Business School, University of Oxford, to obtain her Executive Diploma.
