The Latin American Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (LAVCA) recently announced the launch of the “Latin American Tech Growth Coalition” to improve the networks and access to information and best practice for early stage, high impact startups in the region. More importantly, the coalition already has the backing of Google, Facebook, Qualcomm Ventures, Movile, Globant, Riverwood Capital, and Telefónica OpenFuture_ as founding members.
The context for this coalition became clear in LAVCA’s annual report on the state of venture capital in Latin America for 2017. Latin American startups received more than US$1.1B in capital in 2017, more than twice what they received in 2016. Furthermore, in the past three months, Latin America has seen the arrival for three new unicorns: 99, Nubank, and Pag Seguro.
In the past five years, the number of investors interested in making investments in Latin America has more than doubled. Latin America’s startup ecosystem is clearly maturing rapidly and grabbing the attention of foreign investors.
Said Google representative Peter Less Andrade:
“The Latin American tech ecosystem is extremely relevant. By working with our colleagues in the Latin American Tech Growth Coalition, we will be able to effectively establish the conditions that allow Latin American startups to prosper, and foment economic growth, tech innovation, and job creation in a critical moment for the region’s development.”
Read more in PulsoSocial or in the LAVCA press release.
