We often talk about Peru startup ecosystem in terms of how far behind we are to neighboring startup ecosystems and what we need to do to catch-up. In the meantime, founders are pushing the envelope by expanding to new cities across the region. They are demonstrating that the way to accelerate our growth as an ecosystem is not to catch-up, but to integrate.
Here are some examples of how this is happening in practice:
- GetLavado growing in Colombia through the Rockstart accelerator
- StartupPeru Plug program bringing talented founders to Peru
- Axon Partners investing in MiMediaManzana and Turismoi
- 500 Startups investing in Peru startups Apurata, Decompris, Rebajatuscuentas.com y Fitco
- Diaspora of Peruvian entrepreneurs in other markets (some of whom are building teams locally in Lima)
A siloed approach (i.e. focused only internally) to startup community development will be limiting in a small market like Peru with challenges of talent and capital. We can help founders by working to get foreign investment (capital) into startups in Peru and make Lima a destination for founders (talent) in the region.
Let’s stop playing catch-up. Let’s connect and integrate into an increasingly dynamic and interconnected startup community in Latin America.