Despite the fact that Argentina has been in the middle of financial turmoil for almost three years, without access to debt markets and with the country risk on the rise, in recent days the news of different companies of “local talent” that managed to raise considerable sums of dollars from private investors, to promote their development.
They all have a common denominator: they are companies where the technology is the backbone and they point to an innovative proposal. While the country and the big companies wait for a sign of agreement with their big creditors, such as the International Monetary Fund or the Paris Club, that serves to somehow normalize the cost of international funding, these startups get fresh dollars.
On the one hand, hand in hand with the ecommerce boom that occurred in the last twelve months, the online commerce platform Tienda Nube, announced last week that it managed to raise US $ 89 million in an investment round of a fund that has already opted for technology from the big leagues such as Facebook, Spotify, Dropbox, Slack. These are in addition to another $ 30 million from a previous investment round, conducted just five months ago. In total, the startup, which aspires to be the “next Argentine unicorn”, raised almost US $ 120 million at a time when everything seems to be uncertainty and volatility.
Investment funds look beyond the conjuncture and buy “good stories.” That of Tienda Nube, during the pandemic, seems to be attractive enough: during 2020, more than US $ 690 million were transacted through the platform and more than 14 million sales were made in Latin America.
Around the same time that this operation was closing, the programming school Digital house reported that it raised $ 50 million to expand its ed tech offering. To the international funds, one of local capital was added and the support of the two great Argentine unicorns: Globant and Mercado Libre.
“There is something very unique about Argentine talent. I always meet people who are very talented and committed to what they are doing. I think it is something unique, surely in part also a product of economic instability and the comings and goings of the political context, the Argentines in technology have a very special talent and resilience, “he said in dialogue with Clarion Alejandro Resnik, a 38-year-old young man who from Silicon Valley has just raise US $ 58 million to fund its fourth startup.
Although Belong, his company that aims to transform the rental market, is based in California, United States, Resnik’s commitment is to grow hand in hand with local capacities. Belong seeks incorporate 40 Argentine digital talents, under the premise that the country is at the forefront of the world in terms of development. They will be professionals with both senior and junior profiles. He aims to open an office in the country in the next twelve months “Despite living in the United States for several years, I still believe that Argentine human capital is a competitive advantage of our country. That is why when it comes to thinking about A research and development center did not hesitate to focus on hiring Argentine professionals who could contribute their value to Belong, working from Argentina “he commented.
In an initial stage, Ezequiel Braun Pellegrini raised US $ 500,000 of seed capital to accompany the launch of Brevity, a startup that wants to become the first legaltech in Argentina. “We advance in this first instance of investment necessary for the start-up. Surely later we will look for more funding to complete our regional expansion”, said Braun Pellegrini, who assured: “Beyond the crisis, when there are good stories to tell and projects that they fall in love, investors appear “.
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source https://pledgetimes.com/despite-the-crisis-argentine-talent-manages-to-finance-itself-in-dollars/
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