LatamList – The IDB Lab recently announced that it would invest an undisclosed amount in 500 Luchadores III, a venture capital fund focused on early-stage tech startups in Spanish-speaking Latin American countries.
The fund management team led by Santiago Zavala, René Lomelí, and Didier Quiroz, has invested in 164 startups in 500 Luchadores funds I and II. Among these early investments were Konfío, Clip, and Jüsto.
“Since 2013 we have worked to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem and we believe that this can be a turning point that allows us to generate more impact, increasing not only the number of companies in which we invest but also our capacities to help companies in the region,” said Santiago Zavala, Partner at 500 Startups.
This fund III will invest in about 130 startups that are solving problems in finance, education, health, agribusiness, mobility, logistics, SME solutions, e-commerce, and basic services, among other sectors.
The startups will be selected through semi-annual open calls. Upon selection, they will receive seed funding and will have the chance to participate in an accelerator program that focuses on market validation and business growth.
With this investment, the IDB Lab seeks to help expand access to funds across Latin America, targeting entrepreneurs that are solving socio-economic challenges faced by Latin American populations. Some of these challenges include mitigating health, economic, and social consequences in the post-COVID-19 scenario.
“In particular, we consider the role of 500 Luchadores III to be very valuable for deepening the connection of one of the main epicenters of entrepreneurial capital, Mexico, with ecosystems of nascent or emerging startups in the region,” said Luis Alejandro Fernández and Gyoung Joo Choe, Project Team Leaders at IDB Lab.
Read more on the press release.
