Few local Peruvian investors backed Diego Olcese when he launched Edtech startup Crehana out of college. Now he is one of the most sought after founders in Latin America.
Diego and his co-founder Rodolfo Dañino, have mostly raised money from top regional venture capital funds and U.S. funds with expertise in the education sector. Now, in the startup’s latest funding round, Peru-based Edventures, led by Martin Ferraro, joined the list of investors. Edventures is the corporate venture arm of Hochschild Group, a prominent business group in Peru with assets in mining, cement and education.
Prior to this funding round, there has been some Peru participation in Crehana’s investor base and corporate governance. Wayra Peru was an initial investor through its local accelerator program and Peruvian Ignacio Muñoz has served on the startup’s Board of Directors. In addition, Crehana’s Series A round was led by Acumen LatAm Capital Partners, a regional fund with an office in Lima overseen by Pia Morante. Pia is Investment Manager at Acumen LatAm Capital Partners and Director at PECAP.
Following this round, Martin Ferraro will join the Board of Directors of Crehana as an observer, a position that will both allow him to share insights from the education sector as well as learn from the success of Crehana and its founders. Martin also sits on the Advisory Board of two up and coming EdTech startups in Peru: Crack the Code, founded by Maria Velez, and Check.
Edventures is a welcome addition to the group of Edtech investors in Peru and adds to the appeal of Lima as an Edtech hub in Latin America. Pioneers in Edtech investing in Peru include Winnipeg Capital, an active seed stage investor, and UTEC Ventures, an accelerator that is part of the Global Accelerator Network
Crehana is a local startup success story. The more people that can be a part of it and learn from its founders, the better.
Ruta Startup 