Community – Ruta Startup

Full circle

Last week Alvaro Collas, founder of Quantum Talent, became an Endeavor Entrepreneur. He joined other Endeavor Peru mentors, including Courtney McColgan and Luis Arbulu, who have crossed over from startup mentors to become ecosystem leaders as founders and eventually Endeavor Entrepreneurs.

Reventemos la burbuja

Hace dos semanas, después de las elecciones del nuevo congreso en Perú, leí un tuit del abogado Oscar Montezuma comentando los resultados electorales:

“. . . los limeños (me incluyo) tenemos que dejar la burbuja y recurrir a las ciencias sociales para entender lo que ha pasado ayer. Hay que dejar el “dicen que” e informarnos un poco más. La desconexión con el Perú real es total.”
Oscar Montezuma

Oscar estuvo hablando sobre la política, pero podría haber sido sobre la inversión en startups y el ecosistema emprendedor.

Fondeando una nueva etapa del ecosistema peruano

Este año empezó con una noticia que llena de optimismo a muchos actores del ecosistema: la aprobación del Decreto de Urgencia 013-2020 sobre la promoción del financiamiento de la MIPYME, emprendimiento y startups, en sencillo “DU”.

En el título V del DU se menciona al Fondo de Capital para Emprendimientos Innovadores (FCEI), un “fondo de fondos”. Este proyecto es una apuesta por dinamizar la oferta de capital emprendedor (venture capital) en Perú. A continuación, compartiré algunos puntos para una mejor lectura de la norma.

Peru HR Tech startups go to work

Human resources departments are one of the most traditional, and least digital, areas of many corporations. Now, progess is being made to find the right balance between implementing people management technology and maintaining a human touch. Startups across Latin America are developing solutions for improving human resource processes.

Good governance

Good things happen when you put the right people in change. This is true of the public sector leadership of the innovation ecosystem in Peru.

Major progams require broad support and coordination across government entities. Ministries of finance decide the flow of goverment funds, development banks are entrusted achieve a return on investment, and program managers ensure sound implemention with capacity building.

This collaboration was key to the recent launch of a $20 million fund of funds to allocate capital towards startups in Peru.

50 female founders you need to know

The Peru startup ecosystem has consistently seen women hold critical leadership roles. Most importantly, they are leading top performing technology startups. A few have recognized internationally and others have raising venture capital.

Below is a list of (more than 50!) founders with the names of the startup each founded and other notable recognitions, programs, and investors. This list is in alphabetical order by last name. Of the founders below, Oriana Fuentes, Courtney McColgan, Paola Mego, Ivonne Quiñones, Sully Siucho, and Maria Velez have previously written for Ruta Startup.

Where are the family offices?

Family offices, a principal actor in the Peruvian asset management industry, have largely been absent from the Lima startup ecosystem. The local startup movement has seen significant investment from the government, angel investors, and regional venture capital funds – local family offices represent the next rung on the ladder.

DILA Capital invests in Peru startups

Mexico-based venture capital fund DILA Capital is currently investing out of its third fund, DILA III. Out of twenty fund investments, two, or 10%, are startups led by Peruvians.

Is Peru ready for a mega seed round?

Something new has arrived to Spanish-speaking Latin America’s startup ecosystem – the mega seed round. In November, Colombian startup Habi announced a $5.5 million seed round led by Tiger Global only a day after Mexican startup Justo announced a $10 million round led by Foundation Capital.

The size of these seed rounds is closer to what is expected for a US-based startup, and a significant multiple of what has been typical in Latin America, outside of Brazil.

Acceleration – looking beyond Peru (#3)

International expansion has been a major theme of Peru startup ecosystem in 2019. Just a month ago, I posted Acceleration – looking beyond Peru (#2). This month, three more startups stand out for their selection to international programs.