Venezuelan Minister of Petroleum Manuel Quevedo stated on Wednesday that Venezuela will present it’s national cryptocurrency – the Petro – to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as a unit of account for the trading of crude oil in 2019. The move was announced via the twitter account of the state oil company, PDVSA. It’s
In the last 12 months, the number of fintech startups in Latin America has grown from 703 to 1,166, according to the Inter-American Bank of Development (BID) study “Fintech in Latin America: Growth and Consolidation.” Just five years ago, however, fintech was a relatively unknown concept in the region. But, thanks to rapid advances in technology
At the age of 24, Linda Castro was diagnosed with an autoimmune genetic disorder called Graves’ disease whilst studying gastronomy at university. Aside from physically preventing her from ever being able to work another full-time job again, the disease also meant that she systematically lost her memory from time to time, sometimes a few days
According to Brazilian news outlet Portal do Bitcoin, two retail banks in the country have stepped back from the abyss and reopened the accounts of local cryptocurrency exchange, Bitcoin Max. The country’s Federal District Court has made a preliminary judgement requiring both banks – Banco do Brasil and Santander Brasil – to reopen the accounts. The court gave notice that
Mexico and Chile are among a host of countries that may follow the European Union’s lead in playing hardball on taxes with big tech companies like Facebook, Alphabet, AirBnB, and Uber. In March, the EU proposed a “digital tax” that would affect the revenue of major digital companies like Facebook and Google. Inc, but the
We’ve all seen them before — the circular, automated vacuums that bounce around homes cleaning carpets and entertaining cats. Rumbas were seen as futuristic back in the 70s, but as time progressed, we slowly saw them being purchased by cool friends, and people who considered themselves ahead of their time. Yet they stopped there. People
Electric scooter startup Bird has announced its expansion to the continent of Latin America. Launched in the US in 2017, the company has raised a total of US $415M in funding over five rounds and, in September 2018, reached its 10 millionth ride. With scooters already available across the US and in several European cities,
Bolsonaro’s recent victory in the 2018 Brazil election is still on everyone’s mind. It has created an environment of uncertainty for companies of all sizes across the country, and while the country’s elite and companies like Banco de Santander have benefited from the buzz around the controversial elections, others are a bit skeptical of what
In this series we look to the graduates of Founder Institute’s Bogotá program. Among the many accelerator programs in Colombia, Founder Institute Bogotá was originally brought to the country by Alan Colmenares in 2009. The program is back after a five year hiatus, under a new director Mads Schmidt Peterson. As recent news rolls in
In Miami, Spanish and English overlap. It’s the city where you can start off speaking English and then end with one of the various Venezuelan, Puerto Rican, Cuban or Colombian accents that call Miami home. So it’s of little surprise that Unbound’s latest innovation festival in Florida’s most iconic city would have Latin America running