Credicorp Launches Investment Fund Program for startups in Colombia, Chile, and Peru

The Credicorp Group, a recognized financial holding company, has announced the creation of a startup accelerator program focused on financial services called “The Future of Financial Services”, through its corporate venture capital firm, Krealo.

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The initiative aims to identify and support the 10 most promising pre-seed stage startups in the financial services sectors of Colombia, Chile, and Peru.

The program includes an intensive two-month process that will provide selected startups with advice from international mentors and working sessions with financial corporation leaders from the Innovation Center of the Bank of Credit of Peru (BCP).

Each of the 10 selected startups will receive an initial investment of  US$50,000, and at the end of the program, they will have the opportunity to receive up to an additional US$100,000 in investment. The program’s launch will be carried out in collaboration with Seedstars, an investment group whose mission is to influence people’s lives in emerging markets through the use of technology and entrepreneurship.

This program comes at a time when, according to Endeavor, private capital investment directed towards Latin America weakened during the first quarter of 2023. During this period, companies only raised US$406 million, making it one of the quarters with the least activity in the ecosystem in the last five years. However, the number of investments is 40% higher than the first quarter of 2021.

Invesment Venture Capital. (Endeavor)

Krealo is seeking emerging companies that use AI, Machine Learning, Blockchain, and Web3 technology in financial services or that develop business models in Open Finance (Open Banking, Open Data) or Embedded Finance. Startups can apply to the program until August 13 through the Seedstars website.

You may be interested: LatAm startups raise only $406M in the first quarter of 2023

Why is it relevant to other VCs in LatAm?

• The creation of recent investment fund programs speaks of a recovery of private equity funds. As the liquidity gap for entrepreneurs with reduced funds in recent years was created, startups had to turn to other sources of financing such as debt.
• Despite the above, the performance of fintech applications highlights Latin America as a key emerging player in the sector, as its installation increased by 2% during 2022 and had a rebound at the beginning of this year.
• The partnership between Credicorp and Seedstars demonstrates the potential of strategic collaborations in the venture capital space.

Why is it relevant to fintech startups in LatAm?

• In the face of recent capital fund reductions, this opportunity from CrediCorp is a window of growth for specialized fintech startups in the region, as it provides the possibility of obtaining financing in early stages.
• Participating in a program with players like Grupo Credicorp and Seedstars opens the door for future collaborations, expanding the growth of startups in the region more sustainably.

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To read the information in detail, visit: Seedstar