Almost two years after its birth, Amplifica Capital, the first VC in Mexico to invest in startups led by women or focused on female products, announced the closing of its first fund for US$11 million. The amount exceeded their goal of US$10 million.
With this capital, they plan to add between 10 and 15 companies to the 10 that are already part of their portfolio. In each startup, they will be investing a ticket ranging from US$100,000 to US$500,000, Anna Raptis, founder and GP of Amplifica Capital, told Contxto.
Mexico Ventures; Grupo Herdez; Maria Ariza, CEO of BIVA; Melanie Devlyn, CEO of Devlyn Holdings; Daniel Undurraga and Oskar Hjertonsson, founders of Cornershop; and Loreanne García, co-founder of Kavak, participated in the fund.
Amplifica Capital currently has around 100 investors, more than 60% of them women, the highest participation in a LatAm fund, according to their estimates.
Raptis, who is also behind other projects with a gender perspective (Voz Experta and Mujeres Invirtiendo), said that those who invest in Amplifica Capital firmly believe that the industry should be more diverse, which motivates them to continue participating in the fund.
‘Female First,’ the core business of Amplifica Capital
Morgan Stanley estimated the opportunity for VC funds in women-led or women-focused companies in Mexico is US$3 billion. A McKinsey study added that companies led by women have a return of equity (ROE) 47% higher than usual.
“Companies led by women and with diverse teams perform better, so we see investing in these companies as a great opportunity where we can add value,” Raptis says.
With this fund, Amplifica Capital aims to increase the participation of women in technology, supporting entrepreneurs who lead a startup or backing tech companies with products focused on women.
The investments Amplifica Capital will make in the initial rounds will be spread across industry sectors. Raptis says they will focus on those that “are solving big challenges in Latin America because we know those companies are going to be much more resilient and bring a lot of value to generate excellent returns for us and our investors.”
“We want Amplifica Capital to be the first place women entrepreneurs think of when they go out to raise capital,” Raptis added.
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