3 Ways China is Fueling Latin American Startups

Category : Latin America Startups and Investing
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In January 2018 Magma Partners teamed up with Chinese coworking business, Kr Space, to launch the first China-Latin American accelerator to connect Chinese and Latin American entrepreneurs and investors.

With the recent news that Tencent invested $180M into Brazilian neobank Nubank at a $4B valuation, we’e seeing Chinese interest and investment in Latin America move beyond the common infrastructure projects backed by the Chinese government. The Chinese private sector is taking note of Latin America’s growing tech ecosystems and is capitalizing on opportunities to help the region follow a similar development path to China’s.

As the US pulls further away from Latin America, China is becoming an increasingly important partner for startups and companies across the region looking for investment and direction. As President Trump’s trade war intensifies, Chinese FDI into the US has dropped by 92% to $1.8B, while Chinese FDI to Latin America has surged to $15.3B in the first half of 2018.

This move by China is a strategic one. Latin America is ripe for investment and China and Chinese companies could be interesting partners for the region.

For one, Latin America is now a mobile-first market with over 200 million smartphone users. It is the second-fastest growing market for mobile in the world, and Latin American consumers are becoming quick adopters of new technologies and global apps.

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Carlos Jordan: Starting Ultracasas, The Zillow of Bolivia, Ep 58

Category : Bolivia, Crossing Borders Podcast
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Most dialogues about Latin America’s startup ecosystem overlook Bolivia. The landlocked 11-million person country has yet to develop a thriving homegrown tech scene, but it shows tremendous potential for growth. It often just takes one or two success stories to catalyze the whole industry. Carlos Jordan, founder of UltraCasas and UltraCreditos, might be just the entrepreneur Bolivia needs. After raising the biggest round in Bolivian history from international investors, Carlos became one of the most influential actors in Bolivia’s nascent tech ecosystem. He takes this responsibility seriously, reserving a fierce optimism for Bolivia’s development potential.

I sat down with Carlos on this episode of Crossing Borders to discuss Bolivia’s nascent entrepreneurial ecosystem, Carlos’ role in building the industry, the inflection point for his business, UltraCasas, and what it was like to raise funding from abroad. We also talk about doing business in Bolivia and the future of its tech ecosystem. Carlos is the first Bolivian entrepreneur to join me on Crossing Borders, so check out this episode to learn more about one of Latin America’s youngest tech economies.

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Ignacio Guglielmetti: Cuida Mi Mascota, The Airbnb for Pets in Latin America, Ep 57

Category : Argentina, Brazil, Crossing Borders Podcast, Mexico
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If you don’t believe entrepreneurship is a grueling job, just ask Ignacio Guglielmetti. Ignacio says he has never worked harder than he does for his startup Cuida Mi Mascota, and he used to be a management consultant – one of the most demanding jobs out there. His path from consulting to building a pet-sitting startup was far from clear; it took him to the Netherlands, USA, Mexico, Argentina, Puerto Rico, and Brazil. One might say that Ignacio knows a thing or two about doing business across borders.

In this episode of Crossing Borders, I invited Ignacio to discuss his two startups, how he studied in Buenos Aires and Rotterdam, what it was like to merge with a competitor in Latin America, having a startup acquired, the difference between all the accelerators Ignacio has participated in (three, in three different countries!), and how Ignacio became an angel investor. Check out this episode to learn about doing business across Latin America’s biggest economies, including how to do business in Brazil as a Spanish-speaking entrepreneur.

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Ep 56 Emilia Diaz: Learning from Kaitek Labs’ Post Mortem

Category : Chile, Crossing Borders Podcast
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This podcast with Emilia Diaz, a Chilean entrepreneur who dropped out of university at age 22 to run the biotech startup Kaitek Labs, is one of my favorite podcasts so far. And it’s one of the most necessary.

In the US, we celebrate entrepreneurs who learn lessons from failure. I always knew that I’d be able to get a job if my startups didn’t work. I still know it today.

But in Latin America, people shun failure. And a large company might not see a failed startup on a resume as a plus. Not to mention the social costs of a failed startup in a region where personal pride influences many day to day decisions.

So when Emilia Diaz’s startup, Kaitek Labs, a one time high flying Chilean biotech startup failed, she was not only facing having to grieve for herself, her team and her investors, but also publicly.

She could have stayed out of the spotlight, but she made the courageous decision that pushes ecosystems forward: writing a post-mortem on her personal blog. It’s an inside look on what went wrong. what she learned and what she would have done differently. I think Emilia is too hard on herself, but listen to our conversation and you be the judge.

Emilia continues to play an active role in Chile’s startup ecosystem, consulting and mentoring the newest generation of entrepreneurs. In this episode of Crossing Borders, we discuss Emilia’s decision to start a business, how she won a CORFO grant to grow Kaitek, some of her mistakes, and the famous post-mortem for her startup.

We also discuss what it is like to be a female founder in Latin America vs. other parts of the world and why Emilia thinks every entrepreneur should write post-mortems for their failed startups. Check out this episode of Crossing Borders to hear the rest of Emilia’s story.

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