TechnoLatinas: A Startup Movement In South America

The South American entrepreneurial community has become a full-fledged movement with an ecosystem that is creating new connections for the economies of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and the rest of the world.

Ignacio Peña is a Buenos Aires entrepreneur who coined the TechnoLatinas term to help define a movement whose growth plays off a combination of factors:

A growing number of angel investors are starting to invest in South American startups and the venture capital community is growing.

• Entrepreneurship is becoming the preferred career option for a sizeable share of the top talent emerging from business and engineering universities in the region.
• A growing pool of talent is emerging helping companies from South America and the rest of the world.
• Increased broadband availability and the emergence of cloud services has broken down the costs to set up and run an online business.
• The information gap is narrowing. More people have Internet access.
• The Chilean government perceive startups as vital for the development of the information economy and they are supporting startups with capital, grants, business environments, and tax protection.

And the infrastructure is emerging. Amazon Web Services opened a data center in Sao Paulo last December. Google is now building a data center in Chile.

As for Chile, they have captured the world’s attention with Start-Up Chile. Companies like Suede Lane from Toronto have moved there to be a part of the entrepreneurial community that Start-Up Chile has developed. Chile is leveraging its open, stable and low friction economy to become the tech hub for Latin America. They have put in place measures to materialize this vision, including financial support, grants, competitions, mentor networks, and frameworks that make it easier to launch a startup.