LAVCA | The Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America
  • About
    • About LAVCA
    • Board, Team, & Advisors
    • Media
    • Contact
  • Members
    • Membership Benefits
    • Current Members
    • Member Access
  • Education & Programs
    • About
    • LAVCA Week
    • Calendar & Past Programs
    • LAVCA Education
  • Research & Directories
    • LAVCA Research
    • Industry data
    • LP Survey
    • Directories
  • ESG & Impact
    • Deal Book
    • LAVCA ESG Deal Awards
    • Impact Report
    • ESG Guidelines
  • Articles
    • Featured Articles
    • Industry News
  • VC
  • Member Login
  • Member Access

LAVCA | The Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America

A non-profit member organization

  • About
    • About LAVCA
    • Board, Team, & Advisors
    • Media
    • Contact
  • Members
    • Membership Benefits
    • Current Members
    • Member Access
  • Education & Programs
    • About
    • LAVCA Week
    • Calendar & Past Programs
    • LAVCA Education
  • Research & Directories
    • LAVCA Research
    • Industry data
    • LP Survey
    • Directories
  • ESG & Impact
    • Deal Book
    • LAVCA ESG Deal Awards
    • Impact Report
    • ESG Guidelines
  • Articles
    • Featured Articles
    • Industry News
  • VC

Growth Capitalism: Who Says Latin America Can’t Have Big Data?

May 16, 2013

By Patrick McGinnis

When the Latin tech community gathers to discuss the state of the industry, the conversation inevitably turns to the subject of business models. There is usually some debate as to whether Latin American entrepreneurs will migrate away from so-called “copycat” models lifted from the US and Europe to focus on homegrown technologies.

I have no quarrel with copycats or adaptations, as I prefer to call them. Even if a business model works in a developed market, translating that model to the operating realities in Latin America requires innovation, creativity, and strong execution. Moreover, building copycat businesses is endemic to the tech industry regardless of geography. Just look at all the daily deals sites that were funded in the United States (and consequently Latin America) in the last several years.

Historically, most of the capital and much of the success in Latin America has gone to consumer-focused adaptations, many of them e-commerce businesses. Looking forward, however, I expect to see a shift towards locally developed innovation that spans not only consumer-focused businesses but also the B2B space as well. There are several reasons for this emerging trend.

First, the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Latin America is growing deeper and the flow of people and ideas between places like Buenos Aires and Rio and places like New York and Silicon Valley is increasing. Second, e-commerce remains a difficult business in Latin America, especially when the business requires last mile logistics. Third, investors in Latin America are becoming more sophisticated. As investors become more comfortable with technical business models, they will also consider these as opportunities for investment.

In March, LAVCA’s entrepreneur profile featured Alex Torrenegra of VoiceBunny, a “CrowdVoicing” start-up that is leading the charge towards homegrown technology in Latin America. VoiceBunny is largely a B2B play that targets customers in the United States and other developed markets.

Down in Brazil, another team of Colombians is also generating innovation in Latin America. Aentropico, which is currently taking part in the 21212 acceleration program in Rio, taps into demand for Big Data in Latin America. Aentropico is building a predictive analytics platform that provides managers with user-friendly and data-driven solutions to solve the most acute business concerns. The company aspires to be the Amazon for data science.

Aentropico is a prime example of the new breed of globe trotting Latin American entrepreneurs that are transforming the tech space. Founders Sebastian Perez Saaibi and Juan Pablo Marín Díaz both received Masters degrees from the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich in Switzerland. Pérez Saaibi studied Econophysics while Marin Diaz studied Electrical Engineering and Information Technology. Both founders are Edmond J. Safra Network Fellows at Harvard, where they are working on a computational statistics-based system to monitor international corruption. In short, they are exactly the kind of entrepreneurs who are capable of building globally-oriented technology products in Latin America.

Susan Segal, who backed multiple LatAm tech start-ups over a decade ago as a pioneering VC investor (and a mentor of mine), has asked what it will take for Latin America to develop the next Skype. I believe that developing the next Skype or Adobe or Citrix in a place like Medellin or Santiago or Rio is within reach. The quality of engineering talent has grown significantly over the last decade and the flow of capital, talent and ideas between the region and Silicon Valley is greater than ever.

Moreover, governments in the region are developing public policy oriented toward deepening the overall entrepreneurial environment. These programs aren’t perfect and the return on investment remains unclear. Still, investment in talent—especially by strengthening the region’s education systems— will yield real results.

Inevitably, one constituency will dictate the nature of the businesses that entrepreneurs build in Latin America: the entrepreneurs themselves. To that end, I asked Alex Torrenegra what he feels it will take to drive more original business models out of the region. His advice? “Stop trying to copy the business models from the United States, and realize that there are opportunities unique to Latin America. Perhaps even look at businesses in China. In some cases, Latin America’s market dynamics are closer to China’s than to the US ones.”

With continued investment and more talents like Alex, Juan Pablo and Sebastian, perhaps one day not too far into the future we will see the tide of innovation reverse and flow northward. I look forward to the day when companies in the United States rush to create copycat companies based on Latin American technologies.

Growth Capitalism is a regular column in the Latin America PE/VC Report from Patrick McGinnis. McGinnis has been a private equity and venture capital investor in Latin America and the emerging markets for over a decade, first at Chase Capital Partners/JPMorgan Partners and later at AIG Capital Partners (now PineBridge Investments). He is the founder of Dirigo Advisors and is a co-founder of Real Influence. Patrick is actively involved in the Latin technology space, with investments in NXTP Labs (www.nxtplabs.net), InBed.me, and Altodot. He also sits on the Board of Directors of The Resource Group, a global BPO company. Fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and an avid traveler, he blogs about travel at www.huffingtonpost.com/patrick-mcginnis. He can be reached at [email protected]

Growth Capitalism: Who Says Latin America Can’t Have Big Data? was last modified: January 26th, 2016 by Editor
e-commerceEntrepreneurshipGrowth CapitalVenture CapitalVoiceBunny
0
Facebook Twitter Google +

Sign up for LAVCA’s bi-weekly Latin American Private Capital Update and the LatAm Venture Bulletin, produced specifically for venture investors, entrepreneurs, and technology startups in the early stage ecosystem.






Which LAVCA Newsletter would you like to receive?

VC Partner Events

    Tweets

    • Private capital funds deployed a total of USD5.5b across 215 transactions in Q1 2022, representing an 88% increase… https://t.co/U2ljIBGrFp

      20-May-2022

      Reply Retweet Favorite
    • #LAVCAData for Q1 2022 recorded a total investment of USD2.8b across 190 transactions in Latin America. Compared to… https://t.co/AZRsVwOcbn

      19-May-2022

      Reply Retweet Favorite
    • LAVCA's Associate Director of Research Emanuel Hernandez and Executive Director @naitafur explain trends in regiona… https://t.co/jMIUJfa6KZ

      16-May-2022

      Reply Retweet Favorite
    • Today's top takeaways from the #LatAmVentureBulletin: https://t.co/TdVT3WZ6YT

      12-May-2022

      Reply Retweet Favorite
    • Despite the political challenges in Latin America, LAVCA's Executive Director @naitafur, highlights that the privat… https://t.co/DiI1dGwFGr

      10-May-2022

      Reply Retweet Favorite

    Submit VC News

    Have private equity or venture capital related news that you would like to share? Submit your press releases and news to [email protected].

    VC Industry News

    • Vinci Partners Acquires USD20m Stake in Brazilian Credit Provider DMCard

      February 21, 2022
    • 8VC Leads ~USD35.4m Round for Brazilian Insurtech 180 Seguros (em português)

      February 2, 2022
    • Glade Brook Capital Leads USD125m Series C for Chilean Insurtech Betterfly

      February 2, 2022
    • SP Ventures and Acre.VC Lead USD10m Series A for Brazilian Carbon Trading Marketplace Moss (em português)

      January 31, 2022
    • Brazilian Healthtech Nilo Saúde Raises USD10m Series A from Canary, MAYA, SoftBank, GFC and Tau Ventures

      January 28, 2022
    • Valor Capital Group Leads ~USD16m Series A for Brazilian Agtech Agrolend (em português)

      January 23, 2022
    • DILA Capital and Kayyak Ventures Lead USD15m Series A for Mexican Financing Platform Fairplay

      January 18, 2022
    • Astella Investimentos Leads ~USD4.6m Seed Round for Brazilian Blockchain Trading Platform Gavea (em português)

      January 12, 2022
    • SoftBank Leads USD48m Series B for Colombian E-commerce Laika

      January 12, 2022
    • KASZEK Leads USD13.2m Round for Mexican Fantasy Sports Platform Draftea

      January 7, 2022
    • IDC Ventures Leads ~USD5m Series A for Brazilian Microcredit Platform SuperSim (em português)

      January 6, 2022
    • Mexican Verification Platform MetaMap Raises USD70m Series B

      January 5, 2022
    • DRADS Capital Leads USD7m Pre-Series A for Chilean Foodtech The Live Green Co. (en español)

      January 3, 2022
    • SoftBank Leads USD127m Round for Brazilian Healthcare Provider Alice

      December 21, 2021
    • DILA Capital and ALIVE Ventures Lead USD14m Series A for Edtech Slang

      December 20, 2021
    • Astella Investimentos and SoftBank Lead ~USD3m Seed Round for Brazilian Automation Platform BotCity (em português)

      December 20, 2021
    • GIC Leads USD80m Round for Colombian POS Lending Platform ADDI (em português)

      December 20, 2021
    • Yara Growth Ventures Leads USD30m Series C for Argentine Agtech Agrofy (em português)

      December 16, 2021
    • Tiger Global Leads USD60m Series B for Mexican Freight Platform Nowports

      December 16, 2021
    • SoftBank Leads ~USD120m Round for Brazilian Fintech OpenCo (em português)

      December 15, 2021
    • DN Capital Leads ~USD22.2m Series A+ for Brazilian Healthtech Sami

      December 14, 2021
    • Riverwood Capital Leads ~USD52m Series B for Brazilian Fiscal Management Platform Arquivei (em português)

      December 14, 2021
    • KASZEK Leads USD2.7m Seed Round for Peruvian Edtech Crack the Code

      December 13, 2021
    • GIC Leads ~USD32m Series C for Brazilian Delivery Platform Shopper (em português)

      December 13, 2021
    • Tiger Global Leads USD20.5m Round for Mexican Freight Platform Nuvocargo

      December 10, 2021
    • Advent International and SoftBank Lead USD60m Series B+ in E-Commerce Aggregator Merama

      December 9, 2021
    • Volpe Capital Leads ~USD5m Series A for Brazilian Corporate Governance Platform Atlas Governance

      December 8, 2021
    • Lachy Groom Leads USD14.8m Series A for Brazilian Fintech Stark Bank (em português)

      December 8, 2021
    • Prosus Ventures Leads USD60m Series B for Colombian Edtech Platzi

      December 6, 2021
    • KASZEK Leads USD10m Series A for Brazilian Workspace Marketplace Beer or Coffee (em português)

      November 30, 2021
    • Galapagos Capital Invests ~USD20m in Brazilian Cosmetics MedBeauty (em português)

      November 18, 2021
    • Oak HC Leads USD27m Series A for Mexican Payment Platform Aplazo

      November 15, 2021
    • Colombian E-commerce Fulfillment Platform Melonn Raises USD4.5 Seed Round

      November 3, 2021
    • DNA Capital, Temasek and Fit Participações Lead ~USD20m Round for Brazilian Healthtech Memed

      November 1, 2021
    • Astella Investimentos Leads ~USD5m Round for Brazilian Proptech Homelend (em português)

      October 28, 2021
    • KASZEK Leads USD8m Round for Brazilian Car Documentation Platform Gringo

      October 27, 2021
    • SoftBank Leads USD75m Series C for Brazilian BPO Platform Pipefy

      October 26, 2021
    • Mexican Delivery Platform Skydropx Raised USD20m Seres A from Cometa, Base10 Partners, 645 Ventures

      October 26, 2021
    • Brazilian Car Insurtech Justos Raises ~USD35.8m Series A from SoftBank, KASZEK and Others

      October 25, 2021
    • Andreessen Horowitz and Base Partners Lead USD15m Series A for Colombian Foodtech Foodology

      October 22, 2021
    • Unbox Capital Leads USD30m Series B for Brazilian Marketing Platform Rock Content (em português)

      October 22, 2021
    • L Catterton Leads Investment in Mexican DTC Eyewear Brand Ben & Frank

      October 21, 2021
    • Anthos Capital Leads USD18m Series A for Venezuelan Delivery Platform Yummy

      October 21, 2021
    • Flourish Ventures and GFC Lead USD10m Series A for Brazilian Wholesale Marketplace Merce do Bairro

      October 21, 2021
    • Tiger Global Leads USD35m Series A for Argentine Fintech Pomelo

      October 21, 2021
    • Brazilian Wholesale Marketplace Inventa Raises ~USD6m Seed Round (em português)

      October 20, 2021
    • QED Investors and KASZEK Lead USD40m Series C for Brazilian Fintech Hash

      October 20, 2021
    • SoftBank, Amazon and Accel Lead USD108m Series B for Brazilian Fintech Pismo (en español)

      October 19, 2021
    • SP Ventures and Astella Investimentos Lead USD17m Series A for Brazilian Fintech Traive (em português)

      October 18, 2021
    • Tencent and SoftBank Lead USD200m Series F for Brazilian Trucking Marketplace CargoX (em português)

      October 15, 2021
    • Valor Capital Group Leads USD22m Series A for Mexican Edtech Aprende Institute

      October 11, 2021
    • Square Capital and Hard Yaka Invest USD15m in Colombian Digital Payments Platform Movii (en español)

      October 6, 2021
    • Atlantico Leads USD6m Series A for Brazilian Wholesale Marketplace ZAX

      October 5, 2021

    About LAVCA

     

    LAVCA is the Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America, a not-for-profit membership organization dedicated to supporting the growth of private capital in Latin America and the Caribbean through research, education, networking and advocacy.

    LAVCA Office

        New York City:
        589 8th Ave, 18th Floor
        New York, NY 10018

    Explore LAVCA.org

    • About LAVCA
    • Board, Team, & Advisors
    • Media
    • Contact Us
    • Membership Benefits
    • Members Only Access
    • Education and Programs
    • Research
    • Policy
    • LAVCA VC
    • Contact Us

    @2020 - LAVCA. All Rights Reserved.


    Back To Top