The uncertainty generated by the rise in interest rates in the United States, inflation and geopolitical risks, generated greater risk aversion on the part of capital investors. However, despite this scenario, startups ended a positive year, as they managed to raise a large investment among funds and angel investors.
(These would be the most successful sectors to undertake in 2023).
According to the Latin American Association of Venture Capital & Private Capital (Lavca), at the end of September, these emerging companies in Latin America raised US$6.6 billion, which places this year as the second in history despite being a figure far from the US$15,900 they obtained in 2021.
In the midst of this race to obtain capital, the Colombian entrepreneurial ecosystem has earned a place in the eyes of various investors and is below giants such as Mexico or Brazil. In the first six months of 2022 -for example-, national startups attracted US$1.03 billion, according to a report by the Transactional Track Record (TTR).
(Entrepreneurs: this is how you can organize your finances for the end of the year).
But not all startups carry the names of habi or rappi, and within the ecosystem there is a great variety of examples to follow of Colombian entrepreneurs who, due to their business models and digital products, could become the next Latin American unicorns. These would be some of the five most promising companies for 2023:
1
Zulu: The digital dollar platform announced, last October, that it closed a round with investors such as Cadenza Ventures, Nexo or CMY Digital, among others, with which it reached US$5 million.
This digital wallet, which allows you to save in dollars and protect yourself from devaluation, is a very interesting proposal given the rise in the dollar and the economic outlook that will be presented in 2023. In this way, Zulu hopes to reach 500,000 users before it ends 2022 and open the way to a new one with great opportunities in the market.
2
Porter Metrics: It is a digital tool that automates the collection and ordering of data and is currently used by more than 1,200 companies in 60 countries, of which 30% are in the United States, 20% in the United Kingdom and 10% in India.
This startup, which is already positioned as one of the big players in the market, has a monthly growth rate of more than 15% and currently has more than US$600,000 in its annual turnover.
In addition, it was a year in which they managed to be part of one of the Techstars programs, the renowned accelerator through which more than 19 unicorns have passed, and which decided to support them with an investment of US$120,000, to which they later added Other angel investors, with which they managed to raise US$250,000, are getting ready for a new round, in which several national and foreign investors are already interested.
3
Voice: This Medellín-based startup received US$5 million in a pre-Series A financing round in which US$4 million was contributed by investors and US$1 million comes in debt. The capital injection was led by European fund GoHub Ventures and Starling Ventures, as well as angel investors such as Arash Ferdowsi, the Iranian-American billionaire who co-founded Dropbox.
Vozy is a startup that has developed a voice platform with artificial intelligence and natural language processing technologies to improve the customer experience and has managed to bring this conversational software to more than 150 corporate clients in 16 Latin American countries, as well as the United States. .
4
doc-doc: It is a ‘healtech’ that allows users to contact specialist doctors to resolve their concerns via chat, make video consultations and request medical visits at home.
This service was partly what attracted the Swedish fund Cardo Health, whose mission is to improve the health of millions of people in emerging markets, to invest US$1 million. In addition to instantly connecting independent doctors with private patients, the goal of this Colombian platform is to build the largest virtual hospital in Latin America.
5
Lokl: This is a collaborative investment platform in the real estate sector, which offers an alternative financing opportunity for developers of commercial projects, but also, it is the space for the new generations to build a community around an idea and the same objective: to grow together.
This startup brought together 530 investors in one year, with which it raised more than $4,000 million for the construction of its first project: Indie Universe, a coliving for creatives located in the city of Medellín, and it was what earned it the right to be one of the few companies selected by the Rockstart accelerator, one of the most recognized in Latin America, and obtain an investment of US$100,000.
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