risk capital Investment angel funding Capital Markets entrepreneur support Business and Investment Investment Funds seed capital First Tuesday Innovation Link Inversiones National Stock Exchange (Costa Rica) Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development Superintendencia General de Valores de Costa Rica financing

Venture Capital Funds

The so called ‘entrepreneurial capital’, ‘seed capital’ or ‘angel capital’ industry moves around $3.2 billion in Latin America.

Monday, April 19, 2010

©image: Charlie Ambler

At the event “Costa Rica Investment World”, hosted in San José last week, attendants agreed on a window of opportunity for venture capital funds, aimed to fund business projects, especially in food, education, health and financial services sectors.

Capitales.com remarks that “excess liquidity in other markets teamed with lack of attractive investments options domestically to create a window of opportunity for Central American securities. By offering better investment alternatives, venture, seed or angel capital funds can attract sophisticated investors from the US, Europe and elsewhere”.

Source: Capitales.com

Key entities

Latin American Venture Capital Association (LAVCA) Cate Ambrose Javier Escorriola José Ulate

Countries

Central America

Insight

entrepreneur support risk capital angel funding Venture Capital Fund Capital Markets Business and Investment Investment

First Tuesday Opens in Panama

May 2010

It fosters entrepreneurship by creating business networks; they connect innovators and entrepreneurs with angel investors.

In Latin America, First Tuesday already operates in El Salvador and Chile, and is expected to open soon in Argentina, Colombia and Peru.

José Chen Barría is the executive director of Panama’s Foundation for Economic and Social Development (Fudespa), and responsible for bringing the program to Panama.

El Salvador Promotes Angel Investor Network

January 2010

FUSADES, a Salvadoran foundation, is working to create Central America's first angel investor network.

Such network would be composed of angel investors, who would invest in projects with innovative ideas, at the very beginning of their life-cycle. According to studies, several SMEs fail to survive in their first three years, mostly due to lack of funding and little knowledge of how to run a business.

close (x)