White House launches $1B fund for Latin American entrepreneurs with Endeavor Miami

(L-R) Claudia Duran, Endeavor's Regional Managing Director for North America and Managing Director of Endeavor Miami; Irene Arias, CEO of IDB Lab; Uruguay Foreign Minister Omar Paganini; and U.S. Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. Image via Endeavor Miami.

To turbo-charge economic growth in the Western Hemisphere, the White House has put together $1 billion to invest in Latin American and Caribbean startups, with contributions from private sponsors in 11 friendly foreign nations.

It’s called the Americas Partnership Angel Investor Network, and Endeavor Miami will serve as the link between investors and burgeoning businesses.

The goal: to make the region the most economically competitive in the world.

In mid-July, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan hosted an Americas Partnership kickoff meeting at President Joe Biden’s Washington, D.C., residence. The event came eight months after Biden hosted a leadership summit to help create the program.

Sullivan said in a statement that the $1 billion “in private capital (will) uplift the next generation of entrepreneurs in Latin America and the Caribbean.”

He added, “I believe that if we — governments and investors — continue to work with one another to invest more in our hemisphere’s innovation, then we can achieve the region’s full potential.”

Other meeting participants included U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power, Uruguay Foreign Minister Omar Paganini, Canada International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen, IDB Lab CEO Irene Arias and senior officials for the other Americas Partnership countries.

Foreign nations participating in the initiative include Barbados, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Uruguay.

Paganini, whose country is spearheading the push on the Latin American side through its Innovation Hub, said he believes the program “will serve as a catalyst for startups to thrive and expand into international markets, including the U.S., thereby enhancing economic security and stability across the region.”

Private U.S. investors include California-based Partners for Growth, San Francisco-based Kayak Ventures and New Jersey-headquartered venture capital firm SOSV, among many others.

Claudia Duran, the Director of Endeavor Miami and Regional Managing Director for North America at its Endeavor parent organization, said her group is proud to be on the ground floor of a “groundbreaking effort to bridge the funding gap” between seed funders and the region’s high-impact entrepreneurs.

“By mobilizing anchor investment, this initiative is not only providing potential financial resources but also fostering an environment where innovation and economic growth can thrive,” she said.

An Economist Impact analysis of CrunchBase data in 2021 found that Brazil and Mexico account for roughly 80% of the valuation of private startups in Latin America. Fast-growing markets can also be found elsewhere, including Colombia and Chile. And the Americas Partnership can accelerate those markets.

“Critically for Latin America — the growth of private startups in the region has the potential to unleash positive economic spill-overs, as seen in some of the main innovation clusters around the world like the United States, India and China, where startups have driven net market opportunities and improved affordable access to key services including health care, financial services and education,” wrote Monica Ballesteros, Economist Impact’s Senior Manager of Policy and Insights.

“Fostering a vibrant startup ecosystem requires a coordinated effort between governments and the private sector to promote digital readiness and inclusiveness, as well as a harmonized policy, regulatory and economic-enabling environment.”