BE Fest to be held September 4
The Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust hosted a familiar scene Wednesday, as entrepreneurs, support organizations, and program leaders gathered to preview the eighth edition of the Boricua Emprende Fest (BE Fest). But beneath the celebratory tone, the event carried a quieter undercurrent, a moment for the ecosystem to take stock of how far it has come and how much of that progress has been driven by necessity rather than design.
The festival, now the largest entrepreneurship gathering on the island, began as an improvised response after Hurricane María. The Trust needed a way to connect organizations that were working in isolation, and the first BE Fest became a test of whether Puerto Rico’s entrepreneurial community could function as a unified network. Eight years later, the numbers suggest it can: more than 12,600 participants across past editions, and representation from 74 municipalities.
Lucy Crespo, CEO of the Trust, acknowledged that the scale of the event still surprises her. “When you add up all the numbers from the past editions, it’s a lot of people,” she said, reflecting on how the festival grew from a post‑disaster experiment into a recurring anchor for the ecosystem. She also pointed to the paradox that shaped its origins. “Crises always bring opportunities,” she said, noting that María forced the island to rethink how it nurtures innovation and business creation.
This year’s festival will include a moment that goes beyond celebration: the release of the 2025 State of the Entrepreneurial Community Report, produced by Colmena66. The report has become one of the few consistent attempts to quantify the island’s entrepreneurial reality — its bottlenecks, its gaps, and the uneven access to resources that still shapes who gets to grow a business in Puerto Rico. Presenting it on the festival’s main stage signals an effort to ground the event in data rather than optimism.
For Colmena66, the timing is symbolic. The organization marks its tenth anniversary this year, a milestone that invites reflection on how the ecosystem has changed. “A lot has happened — and a lot has changed — in these ten years,” said Bárbara Rivera, executive director of Colmena66 and Fase1. Rivera noted that the festival itself mirrors that evolution. Last year’s edition drew more than two thousand attendees in a single day and generated over a million dollars in economic activity, but she emphasized that the growth is not simply a matter of scale. “What we’ve built together is a stronger, more connected ecosystem with more opportunities than ever,” she said.
Still, the festival’s expansion raises questions about what entrepreneurs actually need versus what events tend to offer. This year’s programming includes more than thirty educational sessions, dozens of support organizations, a mentor hub with local and international experts, and workshops on artificial intelligence and brand development. These additions reflect the ecosystem’s growing sophistication, but also its fragmentation: resources exist, but navigating them remains a challenge.
The presence of corporate and institutional partners underscores that tension. Mastercard, Rural LISC, and Nest have joined as co‑presenters, each with its own agenda for supporting small businesses. “When a small business succeeds, our communities and our economy grow,” said Pablo Cuarón, Mastercard’s Country Manager for Puerto Rico. His comment reflects a broader trend: large institutions increasingly view entrepreneurship as both an economic strategy and a branding opportunity.
The Municipality of San Juan has also stepped in, aiming to bring municipal tools and incentives directly to entrepreneurs. The move suggests that local governments are beginning to see entrepreneurship not just as a private‑sector issue, but as a lever for urban development.
Despite the institutional presence, BE Fest retains elements that feel more grassroots: pop‑up markets featuring local brands, one‑on‑one mentoring sessions, and a closing networking event that often produces unexpected collaborations. New initiatives, such as ESPADA — a program designed to strengthen strategic sectors where Puerto Rico has competitive advantages — hint at an effort to move beyond general entrepreneurship and toward targeted economic development.
The 2026 edition of BE Fest will take place on September 4 at the Puerto Rico Convention Center. Whether it surpasses last year’s attendance is almost beside the point. The festival has become a snapshot of Puerto Rico’s entrepreneurial momentum — and a reminder that the island’s business landscape has been shaped as much by crisis as by strategy.
