Recently, IBD Lab announced its first commitment to a Peru-based venture capital fund, Salkantay Ventures. Given the IDB Lab’s history as a first mover in backing early stage funds in the region, this is a strong message of support for the Salkantay team as well as the wider Peru startup community. Peru has reached a critical mass of capabilities in both building startups and investing in them.
Salkantay is led by Peruvians Luis Arbulu, Martin Aspillaga and Guillermo Miro Quesada. Luis is an Endeavor Entrepreneur with Xertica. Martin Aspillaga is a mentor at Endeavor and Director at PECAP, Peru’s Seed and Venture Capital Association. Salkantay was previously selected by Peru’s Ministry of Production, PRODUCE, to receive a grant to launch and operate the fund.
To date, Salkantay has announced investments in four startups: Torre, founded by Alexander Torrealba, Slang, founded by Diego Villegas, Aprende, founded by Martin Claure, and Minu, founded by Nima Pourshasb.
This landmark backing of emerging fund managers is a step that will open greater access to financing for startups in Peru. It is further validation that Peru is reaching its potential as a startup ecosystem.