The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) will invest up to $5 million in the Alta Ventures Mexico Fund I, L.P., which will in turn fund technology entrepreneurs. The Alta Ventures Mexico Fund I plans to raise about $100 million and will also be backed by international and Mexican investors.
The Alta Ventures Mexico Fund I will invest in 10 to 15 innovative start ups as well as another dozen or so early stage and high growth small enterprises. The venture fund will look to invest in companies working in life sciences and healthcare, information technology and education.
In addition, the investment team will seek to consolidate the venture capital ecosystem in Mexico. The team will work to align the interests of key constituents, such as entrepreneurs, universities, angel investors, mentor networks and venture capitalists, through conferences, innovative programs and relationship building.
The fund will be managed by Alta Ventures Mexico Management (GP), L.P., which is a joint initiative of Rogelio de los Santos, a Mexican businessman and entrepreneur, Paul Ahlstrom, a co-founder of vSpring Capital, the leading VC fund in the Rocky Mountain region of the US, as well as the managing director of vSpring Capital.
“The MIF is delighted to see an experienced US fund manager forging a partnership with a Mexican entrepreneur, to transfer the best practices of the US industry to Mexico, and help create a conducive ecosystem for seed and venture capital investing,”said MIF project team leader Susana Garcia-Robles. “This is a direct result of how Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) as a whole weathered the recent crisis, and that investors overseas began to focus in LAC as an attractive investment destination.”.
An autonomous fund administered by the Inter-American Development Bank, the MIF promotes the development of microenterprises and small and medium-size businesses in Latin America and the Caribbean, providing access to various forms of financing and knowledge networks.