Founder and Managing Partner at AreaTres
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Disclaimer: all content within the Startup Ecosystem Summary and Editor’s Guide sections is written by and reflects the personal perspective of the guest editor. The guest editor is not responsible for content within the Country Snapshot and Community sections, as much of this content is compiled from external sources and does not necessarily reflect the guest editor’s view.
March 2017 saw the passing of the Entrepreneurs Law in the national congress with a unanimous vote. That was the tipping point in which it became clear that entrepreneurs and SMEs are the growth engine of the economy, especially in a country like Argentina that unfortunately is accustomed to overcoming economic crisis.
Currently the talent of the Argentina entrepreneurial ecosystem goes beyond our borders and is viewed favorably around the world. The many economic crises have forced Argentines to be creative and full of resolve, but the currently evolving macroeconomic conditions hamper growth.
Incredibly high tax rates impact all industries and place a huge burden on startups that are in the process of validating their business models in their initial stages. The passing of the recent Knowledge Industry Law has set the stage for these tax-burdens to lighten for startups as it includes a considerable tax reduction for nascent startups that meet the requirements.
Argentina’s strength in the coming years will be without doubt all those solutions related directly or indirectly to FinTech, AgTech, big data and machine learning. FinTech for example saw 110% growth for 2018 v. 2017 (Accenture + IBD study).
Big data is surging as a category, and in 2017 the National Big Data Observatory was launched with the objective of charting the evolution of the technology as it relates to opportunities for innovation, public use, and potential benefits to the political, economic and social arenas with participation coordinated through the Ministries of Justice and Human Rights, Modernization and Science, Technology and Productive Innovation.
A key condition that exists today, but needs to be enhanced, is a greater collaboration between the different key actors of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, both public and private and throughout the entire country, thereby making available valuable resources to startups with high growth potential.
Editor’s choice of the country’s top 10 emerging tech startups.
Insurtech
Buenos Aires
Agtech
Buenos Aires
Virtual Reality
Buenos Aires
Agtech, IoT
Buenos Aires
Spacetech
Buenos Aires
Fintech
Buenos Aires
Cleantech
Buenos Aires
Fintech
Buenos Aires
Artificial Intelligence
Santa Fe
Biotech
Buenos Aires
Editor’s pick of which ‘Featured Startup’ is especially worth following and why.
Editor’s choice of the industries with the most potential for technology disruption and growth.
Editor’s perspective of the maturity level of talent in the ecosystem.
Editor’s commentary on how the country’s culture and history have impacted the ecosystem.
Inflation, economic crisis and ever present instability are everyday realities for Argentina entrepreneurs going back at least 3 decades.
With that reality, entrepreneurship lends itself to the “figure it out and make it happen” spirit in the country. Argentina is top-20 globally as it relates to number of entrepreneurs–1 in 7 Argentines is involved in some type of entrepreneurial endeavor and 60% of Argentine youth prefers the entrepreneurial path to that of a traditional job. Only 6% of entrepreneurs whose business fails decide to never run the risk of entrepreneurship again. (Failure Institute annual report).
Interested in becoming more involved in this ecosystem and connecting with local ecosystem leaders? Let us know.
54 Ventures (Buenos Aires)
Aconcagua Ventures (Buenos Aires): Focused on e-commerce and software-as-a-service.
axventures (Buenos Aires)
Cygnus Angels (Buenos Aires)
DCDB Group (Buenos Aires)
Draper Cygnus (Buenos Aires)
Genii Capital (Luxembourg)
Grupo Pegasus (Buenos Aires)
IG Business Angels Club (Buenos Aires)
Jaguar Ventures Argentina (Buenos Aires)
Kaszek Ventures (Buenos Aires)
NXTP Labs Argentina (Buenos Aires)
Patagonia Ventures (Buenos Aires)
Victoria Capital Partners (Buenos Aires): An independent private equity firm focused on investments in South America.
Enablis (Buenos Aires): In 2018, Enablis Argentina launched a new program called Enablis ScaleUp Program aimed at supporting founders of innovative startups in expansion stages. The program approaches the possibility of scaling your startups globally using as a launch and support platform the excellent network that our organization has in Canada. Among the benefits that our members of the ScaleUp Program access, we highlight the mentoring of Canadian senior executives and successful entrepreneurs; internships and strategic advice from the MBA at Stanford, MIT and McGill-HEC; monthly peer support group meetings; and Canada Immersion Week, the culmination of the program. (Source: Enablis)
Founder Institute Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires)
IncuBAte (Buenos Aires): A program that stimulates the strengthening and consolidation of innovative ventures in the City, through personalized support and the possibility of accessing a Non-Refundable Contribution and workspace. This initiative is aimed at commercial, productive, social and technological projects of high impact in the City with an age not exceeding 4 years. (Source: IncuBAte)
Incubatec (La Pampa): During the incubation process, the incubator provides companies with services in financial, technological and operational aspects. (Source: Incubatec)
Njambre (Buenos Aires): A social impact innovation business accelerator that identifies early stage impact entrepreneurs with high potential to create sound social businesses. (Source: Njambre)
Socialab Argentina (Buenos Aires): Programming includes open innovation challenges, workshops, and access to a network of social entrepreneurs. (Source: Socialab Argentina)
Aceleradora Litoral (Santa Fe): An accelerator that invests up to US$500,000 in science-based companies. (Source: Aceleradora Litoral)
Cities Startup (Santa Fe): Offers investment up to US$500,000 as well as laboratories and equipment and access to a network of mentors. (Source: Cities Startup)
Eklos (Buenos Aires): The startup accelerator of Cervecería y Maltería Quilmes (part of the AB InBev family ), one of the most important beverage companies in the region. It offers a 6-month accelerator program including investment, mentors from Endeavor and Facebook Argentina, and leaders from Cervecería y Maltería Quilmes. (Source: Eklos)
Glocal (Santa Fe): Glocal is the first Latin American Accelerator for both startups and mid–sized established companies in the Agriculture sector. It focuses on the farming and food industries (agritech, biotech, agri-fintech, agri-insurctec). (Source: Glocal)
Grid Exponential (Buenos Aires): A biotech focused Company Builder. Twenty biotech-based projects go through a 3-month program starting in March, to get immersed into the startup world and to match with business entrepreneurs. Grid Exponential selects 10 of these projects to go from scientific project to startup. It invests up to US$200,000. (Source: Grid Exponential)
Incutex (Cordoba): Invests and promotes a maximum of 3 startups per year in LATAM. Incutex offers up to US$100,000 as well as access to the Incutex network composed of more than 100 mentors, investors, and entrepreneurs. (Source: Incutex)
Mayma (Buenos Aires): MAYMA is an acceleration program for social and environmental impact enterprises. (Source: Mayma)
Parabolt (Buenos Aires): A company that transforms innovative ideas into disruptive and scalable businesses. It incubates its own concepts as well as ideas generated by Latin American entrepreneurs and large corporations to transform them into disruptive digital products and collaborative platforms. (Source: Parabolt)
The Yield Lab (Buenos Aires): Launched in 2017, The Yield Lab LATAM was conceived to take a leading role in building and nurturing the emerging AgTech ecosystem in Latin America by supporting entrepreneurs, bringing together public and private stakeholders, providing funding and driving the “market making” needed to support the long term growth of the sector. The accelerator program meets over the course of the calendar year, and invests up to US$100,000 into early stage technology companies that sustainably revolutionize agrifood systems globally. (Source: The Yield Lab)
Wayra Argentina (Buenos Aires): Wayra connects technology disruptors with telecom corporation Telefónica to generate joint business opportunities. It operates through 11 hubs in 10 countries within the Telefónica footprint: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Germany, Mexico, Peru, Spain, the United Kingdom and Venezuela. (Source: Wayra)
YAVU (Buenos Aires): YAVU is an Accelerator & Venture Studio that partners with great teams to craft extraordinary startups. Through its 4 month accelerator program, YAVU invests up to US$100,000 per company and offers hands-on mentorship. (Source: YAVU)
Central Coworking (Buenos Aires)
Cespedes Coworking (Buenos Aires)
Espacio Centenario (Buenos Aires)
HIT Cowork (Buenos Aires)
La Maquinita Co. (Country-wide)
Manawa Coworking (Buenos Aires)
The Office BA (Buenos Aires)
Urban Station Argentina (Buenos Aires)
WeWork Argentina (Buenos Aires)
ASEA Events (Buenos Aires)
Campus Party Argentina (Posadas): An annual week-long, 24-hour-a-day technology festival. Thousands of hackers, developers, gamers and geeks equipped with laptops camp out in tents on-site for the conference and hackathon. (Source: Campus Party Argentina)
Endeavor Experience Argentina (Country-wide)
Startup Weekend Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires)
Aging 2.0 (Buenos Aires): Aging2.0 Buenos Aires Chapter opened its activities in December 2018 and hosts regular events. It is a network composed of innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, technology people and also older adults, professionals and institutions, interested in improving the quality of life of the segment, with emphasis on overcoming technological barriers. (Source: Aging 2.0)
Ethereum Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires)
GDG & Women Techmakers Rio de la Plata (Buenos Aires)
Lean In Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires)
Service Design Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires)
Startup Grind Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires)
TensorFlow (Buenos Aires)
WordPress Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires)
Academia Buenos Aires Emprende (Buenos Aires): BA Emprende Academy is a free training program that takes place in different parts of the City, seeking to maximize your entrepreneurial skills. (Source: Academia Buenos Aires Emprende)
Consejo Consultivo Emprendedor (CCE) (Mendoza): The Entrepreneurial Consultative Council was created in June 2015 with the objective of providing Mendoza with a tool that allows the development of entrepreneurial activity with its corresponding institutionalization with a long-term vision and that transcends the particular efforts of each government. (Source: Consejo Consultivo Emprendedor)
Ministry of Production’s Incubators Network: A government-sponsored database of incubator programs throughout the country.
ASEA: The Association of Entrepreneurs of Argentina is an NGO that looks to promote entrepreneurship in Argentina, through the influence in public policies and the accompanying of entrepreneurs throughout and width of the country. (Source: ASEA)
Chicas en Tecnología (CET): An Argentine non-profit civil society organization that since 2015 seeks to reduce the gender gap in technology. Through its programs and initiatives it motivates, trains and accompanies the next generation of women leaders in technology. (Source: CET)
Emprear (Buenos Aires): EMPREAR is a non-profit, non-partisan and autonomous non-governmental organization (NGO) in Argentina. It was born after the crisis of 2001 with the objective of spreading the entrepreneurial spirit of the nation and promoting the creative capacity of economic and social value of the most innovative entrepreneurs and agents of change. (Source: Emprear)
Endeavor Argentina: Since 1998 Endeavor has been present in Argentina, contributing to the development of the country through the promotion of entrepreneurial culture. (Source: Endeavor Argentina)
FAN (Buenos Aires): A foundation dedicated to promoting the development of projects and ventures with nanotechnology and spreading nanoscience and nanotechnologies in the different spaces of Argentine society. (Source: FAN)
Wingu: A nonprofit that helps ensure other organizations have everything they need to seize the opportunities of the web, providing strategic & technical support and training on topics such as web sites, databases and CRM management tools, social media and email marketing. (Source: Wingu)
Women in STEM Entrepreneurship (WISE): A program aimed at promoting the integration of women in STEM areas in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. (Source: WISE)
IAE Universidad Austral (Buenos Aires, Santa Fe)
Instituto Tecnologico Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires)
Universidad Argentina de la Empresas (Buenos Aires)
Universidad Catolica Argentina (Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Entre Rios, Santa Fe)
Universidad de Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires)
Universidad de Palermo (Buenos Aires)
Universidad de San Andrés (Buenos Aires)
Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (Cordoba)
Universidad Nacional de Cuyo (Mendoza)
Universidad Tecnológica Nacional (Buenos Aires)
Check out our Global Startup Ecosystem Database to discover top startups and ecosystem resources around the world!
*Updated with latest available data based on listed source.
*Updated with latest available data based on listed source.
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