4. › Quiet Grassroots Revolution fueled by…
› Availability of internet and technology
› Education
› Federal Support and Opportunity
› A new entrepreneurial spirit
› An strong, easily available work force
› Strong growth across LatAm countries
› ‘Nearshore’ benefits
› Access to global economies
› Growing dependencies in economies
LatAm Potential
5. › Start-up Chile
› Encourages entrepreneurs from outside the country to bring their great new startup
ideas to Chile and base their operations there.
› TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco
› 32 Buenos Aires tech startups participated in the world-renowned tech conference
› Government Initiatives
› President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia announced plans to spend more than
$2 billion on communications and information technologies, $30 million of which is
earmarked for investing in technology companies.
› Governments working with existing tech giants for support, and invested in
accelerator programs for their own tech startups.
› US investors now backing 21212.com of Brazil and NXTP Labs of Argentina
› So many other initiatives spurting all over LatAm
LatAm intitiatives…
6. › Miami setting itself up to support LatAm iniatives
› Attracted 700+ multinational companies to support/work with LatAm
› VCs and incubators quickly moving to Mexico
› Alta Ventures, Wyra, 500 Startups…
› Private equity and VC firms commit $7.9B to invest in LatAm across 237 deals, an
increase of 37% from previous year
› Mexico closed 21 deals for $684 million in 2012, and increase of 50%
› Brazil accounted for 147 deals representing $5.7 billion in investments
› There is HUGE potential for all these markets to grow
The World Recognizes Untapped
Potential
7. › MCSI Index – Mexico is the fastest growing nation in 2012
› Mexico’s growth depends on startups
› 35 percent of Mexico’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 73 percent of the country’s jobs are
created by small and medium sized companies (SMEs)
› Put together Fund of Funds
› Finnova and other funds dedicated to innovation and entrepreneurship
› Government backed development fund dedicated to promoting the private equity and venture
capital industry in Mexico.
› Also able to co-invest with national and international venture capital funds to fund SMEs in
Mexico.
› Mexican government promotion of venture capital industry was the launch of a $22 million
seed capital fund by the Ministry of Economy along with Nacional Financiera.
› Startup boom
› Mexican startups raised $469 million dollars in 25 projects in 2011 through venture capital
› For 2012, LAVCA estimated that VC firms invested around $1 billion in more than 30 deals.
Mexico Potential
8. › To build a new ‘Silicon Valley’
› To build a ecosystem with large companies, individuals, and governments
› To build software for local communities
› To build software with global reach
› To become innovation centers of the world
› To become a hub for technology growth
› To build value across the nations
Right Place, Right Time…
9. › Local Governments Promote Growth…
The government of Zapopan, the biggest municipality of the Guadalajara
metropolitan area, is allocating 50 million pesos ($4 million US) to a program
promoting entrepreneurship among young people.
Zapopan, which attracted $1.3 billion US in private investment in 2011, is the
most prominent municipality in Guadalajara in terms of commercial activity.
The Time is NOW…
10. › Corporate Innovation and Corporation Funded Capital Flowing to Mexico
"The timing is right and we now have the right ecosystem," said Jose
Galvez, 37, who recently won a $70,000 grant from Telefonica's in-house
incubator Wayra to fund his startup, Venddo.com, which links buyers and
sellers on social media.
The Time is NOW…
11. › The US and Global Funds Believe in the Mexican Potential
"Within ten years, the industry could be worth 50 to 70 billion dollars," said
Cesar Salazar, a managing partner at Mexican startup venture capital firm
Mexican.VC, which was recently bought by 500 Startups, a U.S. accelerator
fund.
The Time is NOW…
12. › Latest Tweets on Mexican Startup Ecosystem
1 - People tend to forget Mexico is 11th largest country w/112M population.
2 - Mexico city is big, scary big. #opportunities. 3 - @PaulSingh: question is not if
Mexico startups will catch on, it's when. 4 - For good or for bad, Mexico is
intimately tied to US culture and money 5 - Mexico now accounts for 20% of all
@StartupWeekend activities outside of US. 6 - Mexico needs more hacking
culture, computers labs can't be empty on Fri afternoon. 7 - Mexico startup
ecosystem needs more competition, internally & externally. 8 - @PaulSingh:
Mexico will benefit tremendously from a little bit of perceived safety. 9 - Mexico is in
desperate need of a local startup hero. ¿donde esta mi Marco Zuckerberg? 10 -
Brilliant move by @500Startups to acquire @MexicanVC. Kudos to @DaveMcClure
› We are here to help fill the gaps…
The Time is NOW…
