For the first time ever, venture capital firm 500 Global will have three acceleration programs per year. The first of these is Somos Lucha, which is its 15th batch and through which it will invest US$600,000 in 10 startups from Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina, Mexico and Costa Rica. Each company will receive US$60,000.
For batch 15, startups were selected that are venturing into industries such as gig economy, insurtech, fintech and blockchain. Guillermo Guadarrama, 500 Global’s director of LatAm programs, told Contxto that they were chosen from these sectors because the VC fund had already invested in these areas previously,.
Regarding blockchain, the director also pointed out that it is an industry that is growing in the region. For them, it is important to learn and be a part of this wave.
Batch 15 of 500 Global arrives in Latin America after a record-breaking year for startup investment: more than US$19 billion, according to Crunchbase. The largest volume of capital was concentrated in mature-stage investments.
500 Global Batch 15 Companies
The startups in which the global VC fund will be investing are:
- Aora: Ecuadorian application that offers a comprehensive solution for home repairs, installations and maintenance.
- Artificial Nerds: Mexican platform that helps companies automate chat and voice channels using artificial intelligence.
- Avify: Order management system started in Costa Rica to help companies consolidate their sales across multiple channels such as social networks and e-commerce platforms. Through this, they can centralize their inventory in a single workflow.
- Databits: Ecuadorian platform for online training that accelerates the development of skills in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.
- Koltin: Digital health insurance and preventive care that started in Mexico, focused on seniors in the region.
- Loopay: Colombian fintech that seeks to accelerate the growth of SMEs, strengthening cash flow.
- Nuevo Método: Monthly sexual and reproductive health subscription based in Argentina. Allows people to enjoy sexuality freely and safely.
- Qubit: Ticketing platform started in Colombia. Helps personalization and monetization of events through NFTs tickets.
- Reliv: Integrated health platform from Ecuador. It allows patients to connect with doctors, laboratories, pharmacies and insurers.
- Scorce: Mexican API that easily connects the best APIs in Latin America.
The Benefits of the Somos Lucha Startups
In addition to financial help, Guillermo Guadarrama told Contxto that other benefits that the 10 batch 15 startups will receive are:
- Personalized accompaniment: a person from 500 Global advises each company in the program. This person will help them to lay the foundations for growth and become better founders.
- Possibility of making investments in subsequent rounds: the fund can accompany startups with follow-on investments in their next financing rounds. These investments can be up to US$750K in the seed stage and up to US$5M in a Series A.
- Access to Red 500 Global: This is the global and regional network of mentors, where they have the possibility to connect with founders of their more than 240 regional portfolio companies and more than 2,600 global portfolio companies. It also gives them access to its network of investors.
The venture capital fund has around US$2.7 billion of capital under management. It has invested in unicorns such as Clip and Konfío, as well as in other startups that are standing out for their growth: Platzi, Jüsto, Ayenda, Yana, Graviti and Baubap.
The firm will soon launch the calls for the next two 2022 batches, each of which will support 10 startups, Guillermo Guadarrama explained. In addition, on average, 500 Global will be making a monthly investment in seed stage, the executive assured.
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