Peruvian startups receive more than US$22.7 million of public funds during last four years

Contxto – The numbers don’t lie, Peru continues to raise the stakes to stimulate its entrepreneurial ecosystem. Director of Emprende UP Javier Salinas reinforced this on October 22 during the eighth-annual Digital Era NED Business Congress in Lima.

Leading one of Peru’s most active entrepreneurship and innovation centers, Salinas presented a 2019 study from the government agency, Innóvate Perú.

According to the group from the Ministry of Production, more than PEN$76 million (around US$22.7 million) of public funds went towards startup-related projects during the last four years.

From this amount, Innóvate Perú awarded over PEN$46 million (approximately US$13.8 million) to startups, according to that same report. In total, these efforts have benefited more than 450 entities in the Peruvian entrepreneurial ecosystem, 94 percent of which are startups. 

Not everything Salinas discussed related to public investments, though. He also pointed out that private funding for startups amounted to PEN$77 million (around US$23 million) as of 2015. 

Distribution of investments

Among the startups receiving public funding, 78 percent came from Lima. Conversely, the remaining 22 percent originated elsewhere throughout the country. About 57 percent of the endorsed startups sold their goods products and services nationwide. On a smaller scale, only nine percent made sales abroad.

All the while, there are other financial entities within Peru’s entrepreneurial ecosystem that helps startups grow and innovate. With this in mind, startups weren’t the only ones who were lent a hand through these investments. 

Specifically, over PEN$16 million (approximately US$4.8 million) of Innóvate Peru’s funds supported other players. These included three angel investor networks, three venture capital funds, as well as 19 business incubators and accelerators.

The governmental agency Innóvate Perú carried out the research that Salinas covered on October 22. Similar to Start-Up Chile, this program seeks to boost innovation, research and startups throughout the Andean country. 

– ML