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WeXchange announces the twelve finalists of its 2020 Women STEMpreneurs Competition

The Women STEMpreneurs Competition Finale will take place during the 8th eighth edition of the WeXchange forum, virtually held on November 11.

WeXchange, the largest platform in Latin America and the Caribbean that connects high-growth entrepreneurs with mentors and investors, announced its twelve finalists of the Women STEMpreneuers Competition selected from nearly 900 applicants from the region. Under the motto Women STEMpreneurs Thriving in Challenging Times, this year´s WeXchange will connect the most dynamic and innovative entrepreneurs in the region with potential investment opportunities.

This year’s Women STEMpreneurs Competition featured two categories, Seed and Pre-Series A - Series A/B. The competition had 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. Six finalists of each category will be pitching in front a jury of international investors composed of IDB Lab and the following partner funds: 500 Startups, ALLVP, Angel Ventures, Carao Ventures, Cometa, Dila Capital, Magma Partners, NXTP Ventures, Redpoint eVentures and Vulcano.

Selected twelve finalists, all of which are leaders in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) ventures, are as follows:

Seed Category:

  • Cynthia Villar, Founder and CEO of MiBolsillo (Peru), a digital financial trainer that helps organize and manage personal finances in an easy and practical way.
  • Ivonne Quiñones, Co-Founder and CEO of Aimo (Peru), a technology platform that powers logistics with integrated data and real time operations.
  • Mariana Boot, Founder of Arkredito (Brazil), an online platform where people in debt find a solution to refinance and consolidate their debt in sustainable installments. 
  • Omaira Saucedo, Co-Founder and CSO of tuGerente (Bolivia), all-in-one software for SMEs to manage daily operations and finances.
  • Renata Betti, Co-Founder of Talent Academy (Brazil), a people analytics and employee experience startup that helps increase people's engagement and connection with work.
  • Victoria Blanco, Founder and CEO of Abaco (Colombia), a fintech startup that has developed a new risk scoring tool focused on gig-economy freelancers. 

Pre-Series A and Series A/B Category:

  • Anabel Perez, CEO of NovoPayment (Venezuela), a Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) solution focusing on digital financial transactions.
  • Daniela Izquierdo, Co-Founder of Foodology (Colombia), startup building a portfolio of digital brands designed to create the perfect food delivery experience.
  • Juliana Sarmiento, Co-Founder and CRO at Envioclick (Colombia), a cloud-based shipping solution, connecting any freight or parcel courier with business in Latin America.
  • Oriana Fuentes, Co-Founder and COO of Emptor (Peru), a B2B SaaS solution for vetting individuals and entities for hiring, lending, and transacting in Latin America.
  • Pamela Scheurer, Co-Founder and CTO of Nubimetrics (Argentina), a SaaS Big Data & Predictive Analytics Solution for eCommerce.
  • Tatiana Malvasio, COO of Kilimo (Argentina), an artificial intelligence solution that by combining satellite, weather and field information calculates how much water a crop consumes per day.

This year the highest number of applications came from Colombia, Mexico, Chile, and Peru. With Angel Ventures as the organizing partner of the IDB Lab, the overall selection process took place virtually by the following participating jury:

  • Funds: 37 Angels (USA), 500 Startups (Mexico), AC Ventures (Mexico), Accion Ventures Lab (USA), Acumen Capital Partners (Colombia), Adobe Capital (Mexico), Agrega Partners (Dominican Republic), Alphamundi (Colombia), ALLVP (Mexico), Ameris (Chile), Amplifica Capital (Mexico), Angel Ventures (RG), Arkfund (Mexico), Astella Investimentos (Brazil), Ayala Capital Partners (Argentina), Buen Trip Ventures (Ecuador), Carao Ventures (Costa Rica), Chile Global Ventures (Chile), CITES (Argentina), Cometa Ventures (Mexico), Dadneo (Chile), Dalus Capital (Mexico), DevLabs (Chile), Eco Enterprises Fund (Brazil), Elevar Equity (Colombia), Engie Factory, EWA Capital (Colombia), Exos Ventures (Mexico), FEN Ventures (Chile), Flourish Ventures (USA), Fondo Inversor Colombia), G2 Momentum Capital (Mexico), GB Fund (Peru), Graft Ventures (Jamaica), GridX (Argentina) Ignia (Mexico), IMPKT Capital (Portugal), Impulsum Ventures (Colombia), Inca Investments (Peru), Inspira (Peru), Jaguar Ventures (RG), Latin America Invest (USA), LEAP Global Partners (USA), Magma Partners (Chile), NXTP Ventures (Argentina), Outbound Ventures (USA), Redpoint eVentures (Brazil), SP Ventures (Brazil), The Venture City (USA), Village Capital (Mexico), and Wayra (RG). 
  • Accelerators and other Startup programs: BlueBox (Mexico), Cubo (Brazil), Endeavor (Peru), Nesst (Peru), Pista 8 (Bolivia), Seedstars (Colombia), StartUP (Peru) , Swiss Contact (Peru), The Borad (Peru), and UTEC Ventures (Peru).
  • Startups and Companies: AmigoCloud (USA), Cibersons (Paraguay), Creditea (Mexico), Cumplo (Mexico), Globant (Peru), Rebus (Colombia), and Shift (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. This year’s forum is possible thanks to the support of  Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) and Microsoft for Startups LATAM. If you are interested in attending the WeXchange forum, to be held virtually on November 11, you can register here. The admission is free upon prior registration for entrepreneurs, investors and people interested in the innovation ecosystem.
 

About IDB Lab

IDB Lab is the innovation laboratory of the IDB Group, the main source of financing and knowledge for development, focused on improving lives in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The purpose of IDB Lab is to drive innovation for inclusion in the region, mobilizing financing, knowledge and connections to co-create solutions capable of transforming the lives of vulnerable populations due to economic, social or environmental conditions. Since 1993, IDB Lab has approved more than $2 billion in projects developed in 26 LAC countries, including investments in more than 90 venture capital funds.
www.bidlab.org

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 economic, social, and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB also conducts cutting-edge research projects, provides policy advice, technical assistance, and training to public and private clients across the region.
www.iadb.org

About Angel Ventures

Angel Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on early stage investments with high growth potential in the Pacific Alliance (Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Perú). AV started in 2008 as the first professionally managed Angel Investor Network, which later evolved into four Venture Capital Funds, the Angel Ventures Co-investment Fund I in 2013, AVP Seed Fund I in 2017, the AV Pacific Alliance Fund II in 2018 and Carabela Seed Fund I in 2020. Today Angel Ventures is a regional firm with four chapters across three countries, having invested in nearly 30 companies, including Clip, Kueski, Urbvan, Homie, and Emptor.  
www.angelventures.vc

About We-Fi

The Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) is the first multilateral fund specifically designed to unleash the potential of women entrepreneurs in emerging economies. We-Fi funds projects that work across the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem, including blended finance investments, capacity building for institutions and women entrepreneurs, and policy reforms to increase women’s access to finance, markets, and networks. We-Fi is a collaborative partnership among 14 contributing governments and 7 multilateral development banks (MDBs) that serve as implementing partners It engages with a broad range of external partners, including private sector clients and partners, NGOs, government and international entities.
www.we-fi.org

 

Contacts

Manzano Guillen,Maria De Gador

Manzano Guillen,Maria De Gador
Additional Contacts

Choe,Gyoung Joo

Choe,Gyoung Joo

Elizabeth Acuña

Elizabeth Acuña
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