Cemex has announced the launch of Cemex Ventures, the company's open innovation and venture capital unit.

According to a statement by the company, Cemex Ventures will develop opportunities in key focus areas outside of Cemex’s core business, such as urban development, connectivity improvements within the construction value chain, new construction trends and technologies, and the creation and development of new project finance resources. What sets Cemex Ventures apart is its flexible approach to the attraction and generation of innovative ideas that enables the incorporation of initiatives and projects at any stage of their maturity, according to the company.

“Through its open and flexible model, Cemex Ventures aims to generate insights, nurture ideas, incubate, invest in, and commercialise the most promising solutions, while driving disruptive change in the construction ecosystem and thereby developing new sources of revenue for Cemex,” said Fernando A Gonzalez, CEO of Cemex. “By engaging start-ups, entrepreneurs, universities, and other stakeholders, Cemex Ventures will tackle current challenges in the construction environment and shape the industry’s future.”

On 29 March, Cemex Ventures will hold the inaugural Cemex Ventures Competition, its first open call for startups, entrepreneurs, innovators, and businesses that are exploring new opportunities in any of Cemex Ventures’ focus areas.