The Venture Showcase, is an award-winning program for emerging market scaleups. Alumni have raised $437 million and entrepreneurs can now apply.
- The program seeks the 8 most promising startups in Latin America looking to raise SEED+ or Series A rounds between $500,000 and $10 million.
- Startup ecosystem builder VC4A launches the award winning Venture Showcase program as a special edition in Latin America.
- The Venture Showcase facilitates collaboration between investors during finalists’ evaluation and selection process. Entrepreneurs will enter a 6-week program focused on raising investment from leading investors focused on the region.
The VC4A Venture Showcase Latam is an exclusive program for investor-ready scale-ups looking to raise $500K-$10M. After 8 editions graduating 95 startups, this is the first time VC4A launches a special edition for Latin America. With the support of PES Latam, a global regional alliance, the Venture Showcase opens applications to fill 8 spots available for companies operating in Latin America, showing solid commercial traction, and gearing up for further market expansion. The Venture Showcase puts a spotlight on the region’s top startups working to scale disruptive high growth high impact solutions.
The Venture Showcase has run successfully every year since 2017 in Africa, with over 120 partnering venture funds and angel groups actively involved in the vetting and selection process, and with the 95 startups showcased to date having jointly raised over $400M. This is the first time VC4A launches the Venture Showcase in Latin America, and supports the growth of the startup ecosystem in the region. The program receives consistently high ratings from participating founders, with over 90% reporting to be in ongoing conversations with investors they met through the Venture Showcase in the weeks following the program and 65% have closed their financing rounds successfully.
VC4A does not charge entrepreneurs or investors for their participation and finances the Venture Showcase through sponsorships. No equity, no success fees, no hidden charges! The organization implements the Venture Showcase with the aim to give promising scale-ups the support they need and to further build strong startup ecosystems.
“The secret of such positive outcomes for startups fundraising is in the design of the program.” Explains Ben White, Founder & CEO of VC4A. “Since the moment Startups apply they are part of the Venture Showcase since the selection is fully carried out by investors. Each application gets reviewed by 5-6 investors, followed by interviews, mentorship and technical sessions. At each step the investors are the ones guiding the entrepreneurs. This way we guarantee not only ultimate insights for founders into the VC process but also ultimate investor exposure”.
A group of finalists will be part of a technical residency that will allow them to get mentorship sessions and training to further prepare their fundraising campaigns. Finally, 8 Startups will be selected to participate in a DealRoom, that are 1-1 sessions with investor organizations. This remains one of a kind opportunity for selected entrepreneurs to introduce their companies to leading investors focused on the region.
“Among its many success stories, the Venture Showcase has also seen mentorship engagement translate into investment. It’s hardly a surprise, considering that also all mentorship is done by partnering investors. We have over 100 success stories under the Ventures Showcase history in Africa that we want to replicate in Latin America” Ben White explains.
Apply to 1st edition of the Venture Showcase Latam
Between March and April, the call for applications for the Venture Showcase in Latin America is open for startups based or focused in the region. An additional eligibility criteria is that startups are seeking to improve the lives of customers facing economic, social, and environmental challenges and that thanks to the investment received, the startups can further deepen their reach and impact at the bottom of the pyramid. It is in the philosophy that the greatest investment opportunities are focused on addressing the world’s most pressing problems.
“It’s very exciting to see the positive response from investors across Latina America. We already have 15 investment firms, which includes Kaszek, Dalus Capital, ALLVP, Alive Ventures, among others who have confirmed their participation. Now that we are receiving applications from startups, we expect more investors to join in the following weeks” explains Iris Parra, Latin America Lead and coordinator of the Venture Showcase Latam.
APPLY NOW! Interested entrepreneurs are invited to apply for the Venture Showcase Latin America can apply on this page. Investors who want to join the global investor’s network and also wish to refer a company can contact Iris Parra at iris@vc4a.com