Nine startups in Latin America appear among the latest round of 10 to receive funding from venture capital firm 500 Global — a prolific incubator for fast-growing tech companies around the world.
Those 10 companies were selected from among 2,000 applicants from Spanish-speaking Latin America, with the tenth being a firm based in the United States but focused on the region.
The winners each receive $60,000 in funding and a 16-week intensive coaching programme to help improve internal systems, drive growth, raise capital, and professionalize their leadership (all figures in USD).
While all of the winners have been receiving that coaching remotely since August, their names were only recently released by 500 Global, which states that it focuses “on markets where technology, innovation, and capital can unlock long-term value and drive economic growth.”
With that mission in mind, it is perhaps unsurprising that Latin America was the focus of the firm’s latest batch of funding, with 500 Global now having selected more than 230 startups in Latin America since its first batch was admitted in February 2011.
After ten years and 14 batches of funding, the only regions outside of the United States that boast more startups to have been selected by 500 Global are Southeast Asia and the Middle East/North Africa. In the latest batch, startups from Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, and the USA were selected, as well as the first Ecuadorian company to be backed by 500 Global.
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The announcement of the latest batch came less than two months after 500 Global revealed Luchadores III — a fund focused on startups in Latin America that will provide $17 million in funding to 130 companie over a two and a half year period.
Previous Luchadores funds have been lower in value, with an initial $3.3 million fund launched in 2013 and a second $5.5 million fund launched in 2016. Unlike those two funds, Luchadores III includes the potential for follow-on funding to the startups in Latin America that are chosen.
That will see all startups selected receive an initial investment of up to $100,000, with two potential follow-on investments of up to $500,000 and up to $5 million respectively, according to Santiago Zavala, a partner at 500 Global.
At the time of Luchadores III being announced, Zavala said that 44 startups had already been selected and received an initial investment.
10 startups chosen for latest 500 Global funding
The following startups were selected for the latest round of funding from 500 Global.
While only nine of the 10 chosen companies are startups in Latin America, the tenth is focused on the region and therefore still included below.
- Mujer Financiera (Argentina), offering finance-related education to women.
- Wombo Academy (Argentina), which facilitates monetization for gaming content creators.
- Worknmates (Argentina), working with startups in Latin America and other companies to assist them implement effective hybrid and remote working arrangements.
- Sioma (Colombia), a tech ecosystem for agriculture in tropical regions.
- Picker (Ecuador), an on-demand delivery app.
- Bendo (Mexico), which provides a platform to help users establish an online shop
- Bitacora (Mexico), an application for workplace planning.
- Mis Fans (Mexico), which works with content creators to help them grow and monetize their community.
- Wisepath (Mexico), a project management and communication tool.
- Bonum Coaching (USA), providing personalized Spanish-language coaching to help develop leaders and companies in Latin America
The next batch of startups selected by 500 Global is due to begin the coaching programme in January 2022, after applications to be considered closed in October. It is not yet known how many of them are startups in Latin America.
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