The venture capital landscape in Latin America is picking up steam again with the emergence of more funds, accelerators and support structures across the region.
According to a report by the Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America (LAVCA), during 2024 the industry recorded a growth of 7.14%.
There is a growing appetite for technology-based solutions, and entrepreneurs are increasingly building products that are both scalable and rooted in real market needs. However, one of the unique aspects of the Latin American market is that to succeed, startups often need to go beyond their home country.
To continue on that promising path and further boost the VC industry in the Latin region, Yango Group has launched a $20 million corporate fund designed to empower promising startups in the region.
Yango Ventures will focus on supporting seed to Series B early-stage startups in the O2O (Online-to-Offline), B2B Software as a Service (SaaS) and FinTech sectors.
The corporate venture fund is designed to be scalable, with plans to expand its capital base in the near future alongside growing entrepreneurial ecosystems in dynamic, high-growth markets.
Yango is of course the ride haling-turned super app based in Dubai that originally spun out of Russian internet giant Yandex. The company operates in over 30 countries worldwide.
“Latin America has a fast-growing entrepreneurial ecosystem, with a 30% increase in the number of startups by 2024, according to KPMG’s Colombia Tech Report 2023-2024,” Roman Karlash, Global Managing Director at Yango Group, told Contxto. “However, many early-stage startups still struggle to access funding and resources they need to scale,” he adds.
Yango Ventures aims to not only help startups grow locally, but will also provide the necessary tools for startups to expand throughout the region, offering strategic guidance, operational expertise and access to a global network where entrepreneurs can create strategic synergies to drive their business models forward. “Given our international presence and experience supporting companies in more than 30 diverse markets, we deeply understand these challenges,” says Karlash.
By investing in startups across the Latin America region, the fund seeks to support technology-driven solutions that promote digitization and stimulate economic development on the continent. “Traditional investment often focuses on a few markets or late-stage companies. Yango Ventures is here to fill that gap. We don’t just invest, we actively collaborate with startups,” Karlash said.
The fund, in addition to fostering local innovation and business growth by providing capital and leveraging its extensive experience and network of contacts, will also create opportunities for startups to effectively grow and help them make a sustainable impact within their communities.
With an initial investment of US$20 million, the fund is designed to be scalable, which will allow them to expand their impact on the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem in the coming years.
Their first investment was made in Luable-MejorCDT, a Colombian fintech that allows users to find and invest in the best Term Certificates of Deposit (CDT) with an agile and simplified process, through its financial marketplace.
“Over time, our goal is to build strong, long-term partnerships with local entrepreneurs, contribute to the growth of sustainable digital ecosystems, and help technology companies scale globally without neglecting local impact,” concluded Karlash.
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