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On June 20 and 21, two of the most important accelerators in the venture capital industry, 500 Startups and TechStars, met at Fundación Chile with Latin American investors and investment funds to define the future of venture capital in the region.
The venture capital industry in Latin America has quadrupled in the last three years, according to a study by the Latin American Venture Capital Association (LAVCA), and is now valued at USD2 billion.
You might actually be a user of startups such as Cornershop, Fintual and Canva or have heard of SendGrid, Welcu and Udemy. But have you wondered how do these companies become successful?
An important part of the development of a startup is to have the support of venture capital institutions that are willing to invest on these projects at an early stage, for their subsequent growth and exit.
The venture capital industry in the United States is valued at USD131 billion, which is massive, especially in relation to Latin America’s, which is just valued at USD2 billion. But then, why is it that American venture capital institutions are starting to look into Latin America for investing?
This and other topics were addressed at the Latam Ventures Summit event, organised by Latam Ventures Club, a trade association that seeks to educate and encourage good investment practices throughout the Latin American entrepreneurial ecosystem. It is currently supported by ChileGlobal Ventures, Imagine Lab, Magical Startups, Incuba UC, NXTP Labs, Engie Factory and Alaya Capital.
The first edition of the Investment Summit took place in Chile and had the presence of two of the most successful accelerators in the US according to Forbes magazine: TechStars and 500 Startups, which between the two account for over 3,000 financed startups.
The event took place at Fundación Chile on June 20 and 21, and had on board the main venture capital institutions of the country as well as Latin American investment funds.
ALLVP, the Mexican fund that has invested in several successful Chilean startups such as Cornershop, Fintual and Cumplo was also part of the event.
Startups were also represented, with the presence of TechCrunch and Rappi, both successful and recognised for having made an exit with one of the largest internet and communications companies in the United States, AOL, respectively becoming one of the most successful unicorns in Latin America.
Tomás Denecken, president of Latam Ventures Club, explains that “the Latin American scenario is looking more promising than ever: if you look at the figures, only in the last year eight new unicorns were generated, a rising market that highlights Chile as the most stable country to set up new businesses and innovate in the region.”
The event also had the support and participation of Chilean companies such as Corfo, Invest Chile, Entel, BCI, Enel and Enaex, who will participate to discuss venture capital investment in the region, along with successful startups in the Chilean ecosystem such as Capitalizarme and Kura Biotec, among others.
Manuel Rodríguez, director of ChileGlobal Ventures at Latam Ventures Club, states that “these type of events allow us to position ourselves in the region and internationally, playing in the big leagues in order to strengthen national and international investment in world-class startups.”
