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WeXchange announces six finalists of its 2019 Pitch Competition

Finals of the Pitch Competition will take place during the seventh edition of the WeXchange forum, on November 13 and 14, at the Event Center of Paso la Galeria in Asuncion, Paraguay

WeXchange,the platform that connects high-growth entrepreneurs from Latin America and the Caribbean with mentors and investors, announced its six finalists of the Pitch Competition selected from more than 570 applicants from Latin America and the Caribbean. Under the motto  Women STEMpreneurs creating global businesses, this year´s competition will award the most dynamic and innovative entrepreneur in the region with the opportunity to participate in a personalized immersion program in the offices of  Microsoft for Startups  in San Francisco, United States. Both the winner and the finalists will also receive Microsoft Azure credits and technical mentoring from Microsoft experts.

All six finalists are leaders in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) ventures and will get a chance to present their projects during the WeXchange forum, to an international jury of investors. The selected jury will consist of: Hernán Fernández, Managing Partner of Angel Ventures; Vivianne Bernardes-Cibils, Director at Cibersons Group; Nathan Lusting, Managing Partner of Magma Partners; Jalak Jobanputra, Managing Partner of Perfect Future Ventures;   and Santiago Zavala, Partner of 500 Startups Mexico, who will select the most innovative woman entrepreneur in the region. The selected finalists are:

  • Andrea Puente, Co-Founder and CEO of  Panal Fresh (Bolivia), an e-commerce platform that connects suppliers and farmers, with fresh produce or processed food products, with businesses such as restaurants, hotels and cafes.
  • Ingrid Briggiler, CEO of Llamando al Doctor (Argentina), a service that offers qualified and immediate medical care via video call, available 24-7, 365 days a year.
  • Regina Espinoza Athie, Co-Founder and CEO of Cuentame (Mexico), a HealTech company that offers online therapy through video calls with certified psychologists, making mental health more accessible.
  • Sully Siucho, Co-Founder and COO of RebajaTusCuentas (Peru), an online mortgage broker that helps people get the best mortgage credit on the market for free. It also originates credits and customers for banks.
  • Sofia Gancedo, Co-Founder and COO of Bricksave, (Argentina), a real estate crowdfunding platform that makes investing in institutional-grade and low-risk properties easy and accessible for everyone.
  • Vicky Ricaurte, Co-Founder and CEO of Arukay (Colombia), an EdTech company that teaches k-12 students STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) curriculum though programming (coding), via their product called Learning System.

This year the highest number of applications came from startups  in Colombia, Peru and Argentina. There were two basic requirements for the competition. First, the ventures had to be operating in Latin America and the Caribbean, and second, their scalable product or service had to be related to STEM disciplines. The Pitch Competition was  organized by Angel Ventures, and the overall selection process  was carried out by a  virtual jury composed of the following institutions:

  • Funds: Acumen Capital Partners (Colombia), Add Partners (Dominican Republic), Alaya Capital Partners (Argentina), AllVP (Mexico), Ameris (Chile), Angel Ventures (Regional), Arkfund (Mexico),  Carao Ventures (Costa Rica), ChileGlobalVentures (Chile), Dadneo (Chile), EngiFactory (Regional), EWA Capital (USA), GB Fund (Peru), Ignia (Mexico), Inspira (Peru), Magma Partners (Chile), MasChallenge (Mexico), Mountain Nazca (Regional), NXTPLabs (Argentina), Polymath Ventures (Colombia), Village Capital (Mexico) , Wayra (Peru), and 500 Startups (Mexico).
  • Accelerators and other Startup programs: UTEC Ventures (Peru,) StartUp Peru (Peru), BlueBox (Mexico), Endeavor (Peru), Seedstars (Colombia), Swiss Contact (Peru),
  • Startups: AmigoCloud (USA), Aprendiendo.la (Peru), Culqui (Peru), DashFleet (Colombia), Gaszen (Mexico), Homie (Mexico), Kurios (Peru), Poliglota (Peru), Rebus (Colombia), Unima (Mexico)
  • Companies: El Comercio (Peru), Private Advising Group (USA), The Board (Peru), Spark (Peru), Shift (Peru), El Comercio (Peru), Winnipeg Capital (Peru).

WeXchange platform aims to give more and more women the opportunity to meet other entrepreneurs, connect with investors, participate in training and  mentoring sessions organized by WISE-IAE Business School, and to create professional networks to help with exponential scaling of their companies

If you are interested in attending the WeXchange forum, you can register here. This year’s edition is co-organized by  KOGA  and will be held  on November 13 and 14 at the Paso la Galeria Events Center in Asunción, Paraguay. The admission is free upon prior registration for entrepreneurs, investors and people interested in the innovation ecosystem. 

About the IDB  

The Inter-American Development Bank's mission is to improve lives. Founded in 1959, the IDB is one of the main sources of long-term financing for the economic, social and institutional development of Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB also conducts state-of-the-art research projects and provides policy advice, technical assistance and training to public and private clients throughout the region.   

About IDB Lab 

IDB Lab is the innovation laboratory of the IDB Group. We mobilize financing, knowledge, and connections to catalyze innovation for inclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean.  

 We believe innovation is a powerful tool that can transform our region, providing today unprecedented opportunities to populations that are vulnerable due to economic, social, or environmental factors. 

About Angel Ventures 

Angel Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on making investments in early-stage and early-growth stages, based in Mexico City, with offices in Guadalajara, Lima and Bogota. Angel Ventures has made investments worth more than $40 million through its investment fund and AV Network, a regional network of angel investors with more than 400 members. 

Angel Ventures manages AV Pacific Alliance Fund II, a regional fund with $50 million in committed capital and AVP Seed Fund I, a fund based in Peru with $1.5 million in committed capital.  

About KOGA 

Koga is a B Corporation that encourages entrepreneurs and SMEs to be the best for the world. Inspiring, training and accompanying entrepreneurs in the way of building their ideas and help them carry them out, empower them and scale them. 

Contacts

Manzano Guillen, Maria De Gador

Manzano Guillen, Maria De Gador
Additional Contacts

Luis Alejandro Fernandez

Luis Alejandro Fernandez

Elizabeth Acuña

Elizabeth Acuña

Marta del Castillo

Marta del Castillo
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