Ruta Startup

Visit to FORESLAB

Yesterday, I visited Bianca Vigil of FORESLAB in Cusco, Peru. 🇵🇪

Bianca and her co-founder Katya Silva use biotechnology to produce native tree species, including Quina (also called Chichona), Peru’s national tree. 🌳

Along with Quina, FORESLAB works with the Shihuahuaco and Chachacomo species, all critical to the Peruvian Amazon’s biodiversity.

FORESLAB uses vitro technology to accelerate plant propagation and preserves genetic material in a germplasm bank. The Company aims to achieve this process at scale using bioreactors, to adequately meet the urgent need for these trees and other native plants in Peru.

I enjoyed learning from Bianca and seeing her laboratory. Certainly, our world’s future is in the hands of entrepreneurs like her. 🌱 🌎

Respaldemos mujeres emprendedoras en Perú

¿Has sentido inspiración 💡 este mes al escuchar las historias de mujeres emprendedoras 🦸🏻‍♀️ 👩🏻‍💻 en Perú 🇵🇪 ?

¿Te estás preguntando cómo puedes hacer más para respaldarlas en su camino emprendedor?

¡Conviértete en un 🌟 cliente 🌟 de sus empresas!

Esto creará un impacto positivo, real e inmediato 🎯 en sus empresas y te permitirá ver de primera mano las soluciones que estas increíbles founders están desarrollando 🚀.

Abajo les comparto algunas para empezar :

Cuentología (plan mensual desde $3.99)
LIMALINEN (productos desde S/ 29.00)
Sin Envolturas (crea tu lista de regalos)
Manzana verde (desde S/ 15.50)
Rextie (tasas competitivas de tipo de cambio)
Cirkula (productos desde S/ 9.00)

Puedes ser parte de las historias de Fiorella De La Sotta Rubio, Ursula De la Sotta, Lucia Farfan, Claudia Dawson, Larissa Arias, Claudia Quintanilla, Michelle Gomberoff, y muchas otras emprendedoras que te inspiran.

Peru is the epicenter of EdTech in Latin America

Peru has a history of innovation in education led by change-makers who have taken concrete steps to improve students’ learning experience. These initiatives include: Laboratoria, founded by Mariana Costa, Enseña Perú, part of Teach of All, Innova Schools, a chain of private K-12 schools, and UTEC, a private engineering university in Lima.

With these positive private sector and not-for-profit initiatives, it is only natural that Peru’s startups are following the same path and delivering technological solutions to further address the need for better education in the country. And it’s no wonder Peru stands out as a leader in Latin America for innovation in education.

When Crehana, Peru’s preeminent startup, came onto the scene in 2014, it validated Peruvians’ thirst for learning and willingness to pay for quality education. ALIVE Ventures, one of Crehana’s investors, published an impact report showing that 77% of Crehana’s users improved the quality of their life and 73% used the skills they learned in their jobs. Creahana raised the first Series A of a Peru startup in 219 and then added a key family office as an investor.

Motivated by the success of Crehana, startup EdTech founders and investors in Peru launched an array of solutions and the results are showing, not only in startup success but also in fund formation. By 2019, the country was poised to become an Edtech hub in the region.

UTEC’s new acceleration program raises the bar

It’s very exciting that UTEC Ventures is launching another acceleration program in Peru! 🇵🇪

This one is new and improved:

For 👀”(very) early stage” 👀 startups in Peru and Latin America

25 startups will be selected for a 4-week program and $5,000 equity free

10 will go on to the intensive 3-month acceleration program and $55,000

5 will receive an additional $15,000 equity free.

UTEC Ventures, led by Jose Deustua, Evelyn Gomez, and Kevin Granda, has made more investments than anyone else in Peru. It has consistently been the epicenter of the startup world in Peru.

UTEC has again raised the bar with an excellent founders-first initiative. See below for more details.

Program Description: https://lnkd.in/esTC8jj6

Terms: https://lnkd.in/eRQd9cVU

Application : https://lnkd.in/e-77NsWR

Apply by February 26th 🚀

uDocz’s investment round shows Peru is an Edtech hub

Peruvian start up uDocz recently announced an investment round led by GSV Ventures, one of the most prominent Edtech venture capital firms in the world. This is GSV Ventures’s first investment in a Latin American startup. GSV has previously invested in well known EdTech startups including Coursera, Degreed, and Guild Education.

uDocz Founder Carlos Effio and his team of 20 employees have been hard at work over the past four years quietly building one of the largest libraries of Spanish language content for college students. uDocz’s customers are primarily university students and students studying to apply to university. uDocz’s active user base has achieved significant growth since the outbreak of the pandemic enabling university students to study remotely and continue learning. uDocz is an example of how disruptive edtech startups are transforming and improving the quality of education in Latin America.

Entrevista Francisco Navarro-Grau

Francisco Navarro-Grau es Head de RPP Ventures, el fondo de media for equity del Grupo RPP, donde se encarga de buscar y estructurar nuevas inversiones, además de administrar el portafolio de startups. Anteriormente, Francisco trabajó en las áreas de Riesgos y Producto del BCP.

50 startups in Peru ready to take-off

Recently announced successful rounds in Peruvian startups have highlighted the quality of local startup founders. They are also validation that Lima offers a great starting point for launching regional tech businesses. Examples of startups that have raised significant rounds of capital over the last twelve months are: Crack the Code, Crehana, Chazki, Favo, Leasy, and Turbodega. Add to these startup rounds the recent acquisition of Freshmart by Justo, and you have a multiple examples of capital entering Peru across a range of sectors and stages. Importantly, the capital is coming from top tier venture capital funds across Latin America, including Tiger Global, Elevar Equity, General Atlantic, and Kaszek.

The good news for investors is that this is the tip of the iceberg in terms of Peru’s startup potential. There is a growing list of up-and-coming startups in Peru. Most of these companies have achieved product market fit, raised a solid seed stage round and are growing fast. They have been supported by local seed investors including, AVP, Inca Ventures, The Board, UTEC Ventures, and Winnipeg Capital, all funded by private capital. In addition, local programs EmprendeUP, Endeavor ScaleUP, and USIL Ventures, have all provided essential support to get startups to the seed stage in a position of strength. These local sources of funding and support open up new paths to success for Peru’s startups.

Yes, you can trust startup founders

The personal qualities of typical startup founders coupled with structural dynamics of startup investing, ensure that mutual trust pays dividends.

Here are some reasons why it makes sense to trust startup founders:

Market makers

All financial markets need market makers in order to remove frictions and facilitate transactions. While in the public markets, market makers buy and sell securities, in longer-term private markets, they can help set prices and build co-investment syndicates. This function allow capital that is sitting on the side lines to jump in. Nowhere is this more true than in nascent, immature markets.

In Peru, we are witnessing the positive evolution of the local venture capital industry. What was once a few one-off angel or family office investments in startups has turned into a vibrant, fully functioning startup ecosystem with multiple local funds investing actively.

A key market-making role has been played by three funds in particular: Winnipeg Startup Fund, Inca Ventures, and AVP Seed Fund I, where I work. Here are some of the things that we have done:

Still on the cusp

Peru’s startup moment has arrived. What are we waiting for?

In early 2020, I wrote that Peru’s startup ecosystem was ready for a leap forward. The country was at the inflection point of building a vibrant venture capital industry. Then the pandemic hit. Two years later, Peru’s local venture capital industry seems to be running in place.