Photo by Cometa
Experts in Business and Economics know well that for every crisis comes an opportunity. For example, the COVID-19 health crisis inadvertently caused more startups in Latin America to get more funding, as entrepreneurs were quickly creating more solutions, particularly in the health and education sectors.
As of September 2021, venture capitalists have invested about $8.8 billion in almost 400 deals in Latin America, according to PitchBook data.
As more people became concerned about their overall health, the interest in LatAm health-tech startups exploded: about $99 million were invested in this industry during 2020, five times more than in 2019. Meanwhile, edtechs have raised around $70 million in the region.
Cometa is looking for healthtech and edtech startups
Following these trends, Cometa (Variv Capital) is eager to invest in the health and education sectors. In an interview with Contxto, Rafael de Haro, Founder & General Partner, mentioned that the fund’s investment thesis is focused on companies with a strong software base.
Cometa has already invested in several Spanish-speaking startups that are now showing great results. Among them are Bitso, GAIA Design, Conekta, Cabify, Kueski, iVoy, Simetrik, Guros, and Quinio.
What’s next for Cometa?
The VC firm was created in 2012 as Variv Capital. At that time, the partners realized that Spanish-speaking countries in the continent, specifically Mexico, were experiencing considerable growth in the number of tech startups.
The key insight was that the available capital was not going to be enough for the increasing number of entrepreneurs. That’s where Variv Capital would enter, providing some of the needed funds in different stages of VC investment, Rafael de Haro told Contxto.
Since then, Cometa has focused on early-stage technology startups (seed round and A round) in Hispanic markets.
“The Hispanic markets model is a key differentiator between our peers and us,” De Haro said. “Most funds in Latin America and Mexico invest only in the country or only in Latin America,” he said. Cometa, however, also looks at U.S. companies that serve the Hispanic market. T
The fund has also ventured into Spain, where many of the companies have found opportunities to expand into Latin America for reasons well beyond the shared language.
Cometa is looking to make three more investments in 2021 and start 2022 with its third closed fund. It also wants to make another six investments over the next year.
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