Peru Top 10 Startups to Watch in 2018

By Ana Sofia Almagro, Associate

About the ‘Peru Startup Snapshot’ Series: In late 2017, we surveyed over 25 startups, investors, ecosystem builders, corporations, and NGOs to take a pulse on Peru’s upcoming startup ecosystem.

In the 1st article in this series, we present Peru’s top most promising startups.

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Top 10 Peruvian Startups to Watch

While often overlooked by its neighbors, Mexico and Colombia, Peru is a dynamic market with the highest GDP growth in Latin America. This emerging entrepreneurial sector that is gradually gaining momentum and attracting investor interest is very exciting!

This article highlights some of the companies attracting attention based on the responses from our survey, and the articles that follow will further explore Peru’s startup trends.

Startups Taking Peru to New Heights

From agtech driving farming innovation to data analytics platforms further enhancing Lima’s foodie experience, the Peruvian tech scene is diverse. Better and smarter services, food/agriculture and fintech are key themes that have emerged, and reflect the modernization and evolution of Peru’s pillar sectors.

1. Crehana is an online training platform for creative and digital professionals in Latin America and Spain. They are redefining education through affordable and project-based learning with more than 500 courses from design to coding. 2017 was a good year for Crehana, with 270% growth, a $7M valuation, and seed round investment from Rethink Education in the US.
2. SpaceDat is bringing big data to Peruvian agriculture with a drone-enabled digital platform. They have chosen to focus on Peruvian specialty goods (e.g. blueberries, goldenberries) that give them a differentiated edge from other agtech drone competitors. They’re gaining even more attention after participating in NXTP’s AgTech Program.
3. Mesa 24/7 seeks to revolutionize how restaurants in Peru interact with their customers. Mesa 24/7 is a restaurant reservation platform that also offers restaurants a way to manage and understand customer information and the high-end restaurant market through advanced analytics and dashboards. They are part of Angel Venture Peru’s portfolio.
4. Seguro Simple has set out to change the way consumers interact with the insurance market. They offer a platform tailored to consumer preferences to help them choose an insurance plan that best suits their needs. They have been around since 2013, offering their services in multiple insurance markets (auto, health, life). In 2016, they began expansion into Mexico in the car insurance market.
5. Joinnus is a web-based platform that connects people with common interests for group activities, enabling consumers and businesses alike to create, share, and manage events effectively. They have impressive traction in the Peruvian market with more than 160K users by May 2017, when they raised $500K from one of the biggest media groups in the country. Their founders are frequently seen speaking at startup events in Lima, sharing their stories and advice for success with other entrepreneurs. This is one to watch!
6. Laboratoria is quickly marrying social enterprise and the popular coding school by focusing on training women developers. Led by a sharp founder, Mariana Costa, Laboratoria seeks to be “a new source of female tech talent from Latin America to the world.” The big challenge for Laboratoria will be to improve the quality of the talent they create and strengthen their business model, as they seek profitability in a competitive sector.
7. Mandu offers a unique value proposition in the realm of platforms; they have created a platform for companies to measure, manage, and improve relationships with their stakeholders and employees. They offer analytics dashboards to measure productivity and gain transparency about their “clima laboral” (employee satisfaction).
8. Marana produces “bean to bar” chocolate. While they’re the only non-tech startup in this list, Marana aligns to Peru’s strengths and comparative advantages. Their artisanal chocolates embrace the different regions of Peru to offer as authentic of an experience as a good. They offer a value-added product, and investors are noticing. Their biggest challenge will be to make it in a competitive export market.
9. Solven is a virtual marketplace that connects borrowers and financial institutions issuing loans online. Their value proposition to consumers? Get a loan in one day. Their ultimate goal? Become an online bank. Facundo Turconi, Solven’s founder, believes fintechs will grow by collaborating with banks — a belief embodied in the company’s value proposition and one that could help Solven grow in a country where banks are only beginning to embrace fintech startups as collaborators.
10. TasaTop, the third fintech startup in this list, is helping Peruvians save. Its marketplace helps people find better interest rates for their extra cash (savings) by connecting them to financial institutions who can offer the best rates. With two revenue streams (one from the financial institution, and one from the consumer), they have a promising business model; but their biggest challenge is scaling– overcoming a small market of Peruvians with savings.

Why we’re excited?

What do these startups have in common? There are a few key factors driving their success:

• Solid Traction: We often see the founders of Crehana and Joinnus at major startup events around Lima (all of which you can find on Joinnus!). They’re there sharing lessons learned and talking about their already present success. Although they speak about their always-present founder anxiety, they have demonstrated impressive traction — both with 160K users and impressive growth.
• Embracing Peru’s Strengths: Peru’s economic growth is driven by rich natural resources– from gold, silver and copper to coffee, cacao and a range of Amazonian superfoods. Meanwhile, Gaston Acurio put Peruvian cuisine on the map a few decades ago, attracting an international following and a series of Michelin star or similar quality venues across Peru. Now, SpaceDat, Marana and Mesa 24/7 are among those startups leveraging Peru’s core strengths– and taking them to the next level. A recent visit by MIT’s Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program (REAP) last year highlighted these sectors– agriculture, food, and biodiversity– as core opportunities that differentiate the country.
• Middle Class Driven Demand: Fintech startups like Mandu, Seguro Simple and TasaTop are indicators of a healthy economy and rising middle class that expects more from banking, financial instituions and insurance providers. They stand out for being unique players (not many others like them) in the Peruvian fintech market. Banks and branches, as well as cash and other manual transactions, have long been the norm in Peru. But these new players offer unique solutions. Mandu, for example, is looking to capture a B2B market, which is less popular among Peruvian startups. B2B platforms have been a tricky business model in Peru with its slower tech adoption and integration of mobile money; yet these companies are indicators of demand for new, better models. Likewise SeguroSimple is gaining traction with its online insurance product, while TasaTop is letting consumers compare interest rates on savings plans.
• Peruvian Adaptations: Laboratoria and Solven offer solutions that are common in other markets: coding schools and lending marketplaces. Although they come in their own flavors and are adapted to the Peruvian context, they benefit from the lessons learned by their neighborhood countries — something they are both taking advantage of and strengthening as they seek to expand regionally (e.g. Laboratoria has been in Chile since 2015, Solven expanded to Mexico in 2016).

What’s Next?

These are only a few examples of the emerging and ever growing Peruvian startup ecosystem. Stay tuned for the next article in this series that highlights broader trends to watch out for!

Part 1. Peru Top 10 Startups to Watch in 2018

Part 2. Peru’s Top Startup Trends

Part 3. Peru’s Potential: Driving Innovation & Opportunities

Part 4. Achieving Peru’s Potential for Startup & Ecosystem Success

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About I-DEV International:

I-DEV is a strategy and investment advisor focused on building leading businesses in emerging markets. Across its offices in San Francisco and Nairobi, I-DEV is focused on following and featuring key trends and opportunities for investors and others interested in the local entrepreneurial ecosystems.