1In Latin America, approximately 70% of the population is unbanked. In Colombia, only 38% of adults over the age of 15 have a bank account, according to the World Bank. There is a significant portion of the population in Colombia that is not part of the traditional banking system, leaving a great deal of opportunity for fintech startups. Colombia
Seedstars World, one of the largest startup competitions for emerging markets and fast-growing startup scenes, has concluded its third edition of the annual Seedstars LATAM Summit in Lima, Peru this week. During the event, the Launch of Seedspace Lima was announced at the Summit in the aim of continuing Seedstars efforts in building a thriving
Ecuadorean Inty Grønneberg has been named Latin America’s inventor of the year by prestigous university MIT (Massacheussets Institute of Technology). Grønneberg, who is also half-Norwegian, won the accolade for his invention that promises to rid rivers and, by extension, oceans as well of plastic. Grønneberg is currently a PhD researcher at Imperial College’s Dyson School
The Puerto Rico’s Science, Technology and Research Trust (PRSTRT) has announced an investment of USD 225,000 through the follow-up fund parallel18 Ventures in four Puerto Rican and Latin American startups in return for stocks or convertible notes, as a match to private capital raised by the companies. The fund carries the name of accelerator parallel18
Colombia is seeking to bring the country’s emeralds within the coveted status of appellation of origin, a status conferred to products associated with unique territories like Italy’s parma ham and Grana Padano parmesan cheese. Cognac, champagne and darjeeling all belong to this exclusive club of products that are afforded a certain “heritage status” if accepted.
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
Around the world, Argentina is famous for its vibrant love for tango. While the country might exhibit an unparalleled energy for tango, the same can not be said for the energy of its economy. For the longest time, the South American country has battled with an unstable economy and a volatile peso. The country was
Culqi, a Peruvian online payments platform for digital businesses, was selected the winner of the Visa’s Everywhere Initiative LAC at FINNOSUMMIT Miami. Receiving $50,000 USD, the startup will also have the chance now to work alongside Visa in the development of the future of online payments. The company had won from a pool of 12
Latin America will be at the forefront of fintech next year with Peru and Colombia tipped to host the first continental editions of one of the world’s most revered financial sector conferences. Finnovating will bring their global event Unconference to Latin America for the first time following strong interest from startups and banks alike. The
In this series we look to the graduates of Founder Institute’s Bogota 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 new director Mads Schmidt Peterson. “I am proud to present the