When: Wed, Jan 18, 2017, 6pm-9pm
Location: Google SF Startup Space, 301 Howard, San Francisco
While 2015’s challenges are not yet behind, economies around the world are ending 2016 with a new set of troubles.
A recent IMF study reviewed that global debt reached a record $152 trillion last year, a much higher amount than before the 2008 financial crises.
On top of that, political turmoil is bringing uncertainty in many parts of the world, including in Europe, with the Brexit vote, and Latin America, whose largest economy Brazil is struggling with its worst recession in history. Moreover, in Mexico, experts predict that the country’s growth will decelerate by 2.0% while in Argentine, economists project a rise of 3.2% in 2017.
Despite the economic uncertainty, venture investments in Latin America continue to incline.
Data from LAVCA shows that VC transactions in Latin America are up 46% year over year, with US$218m spread out across 104 transactions just in the first six months of 2016.
Adding to it, Nubank, a mobile-based credit card company, announced on Dec 7 it raised $80 million in a Series D round of funding. The round, led by Yuri Milner’s DST Global, was the first investment of the firm in a Brazilian company.
Other debut investments in the LatAm region came from Andreessen Horowitz, which invested in Rappi, a Colombian grocery delivery service, and Founders Fund, which made an undisclosed investment in Jusbrasil, a Salvador-based legal website with 20M monthly users.
As the world continues to shift from manufacturing-driven to service-driven economies, we wonder how Latin Americans will navigate 2017.
Join us on January 18th to discuss the Latin America 2017 business outlook & hear investors insights on the challenges of the new year.
Speakers:
Antoine Colado, Valor Capital
Pat Burtis, Amadeus Capital
Roy Glasberg, Google
Moderator: Andy Tsao, Silicon Valley Bank
