The ideas of businesses and countries are different, not so the challenges that entrepreneurs have in Latin America when it comes to making their business dream come true.
A government system that does not match the speed required to undertake and lack of a greater number of sources of financing and training are the main obstacles they face, added to those that each entrepreneur must overcome. before thinking about “throwing in the towel”.
The following stories are three of the hundreds of startups that from yesterday to Saturday meet at INCmty in Cintermex, an event organized by Tec de Monterrey.
Take advantage of the Amazon to create healing gel
With the development of green nanotechnology, Cristian Carnero found the solution to heal foot wounds of people suffering from diabetes.
The Peruvian entrepreneur said that the gel with green nanotechnology, synthesized by particles that achieve natural extracts, obtained in the Peruvian Amazon is ready to go to market, but regulatory problems stop it.
He explained that NanoVida has a genetic resource contract with the Peruvian Amazon, so they contribute to the development of the native peoples of that area.
In two months we have helped many people who have the condition in a healing time of no more than three months”.
“But, we have regulatory problems in the country, so we still do not go on sale, we estimate that we will have to wait 6 months to a year to do so.”
He added that the product has many customers waiting, “what we are doing is donating product in exchange for allowing us to follow up and then present it as testimony”.
Nanovida
The idea that began in 2015 and a couple of years later came true, seeks to get ‘angel investors’ abroad, which will allow him to obtain capital.
The cost of the product is 80 soles per 70 grams which in conversion to Mexican currency would be equivalent to 400 to 450 pesos, said the Biotechnologist Engineer.
His idea is endorsed medically and by the Ethics Committee of Peru of the Catholic University of Santa María.
“Now there are a little more financing options, campaigns are being carried out to boost entrepreneurship, but the budget for entrepreneurs remains low”.
They take away boring office work
They call themselves the ‘Airbnb of flexible jobs’, their name is Workia and they offer more than 150 places in Colombia and 35 more in Mexico so that people can do their office work.
The startup of Medellín Colombia started as an idea 1 year ago, and 4 months ago it started working. Today they have managed to earn their first 50 thousand dollars.
Workia
The application identifies the closest places so that people can carry out their work activities, without having to move to their office or take advantage of it when they are in another city or country, shared Julián Arango partner.
The idea began as a personal need to realize that doing home office work was boring, instead doing it in different places allows savings of gas, time, creating business networks, and takes away the boring thing to always do in it place”.
For now its presence is in Bogotá, Cali and Medellín, however in 2020 the challenge is to grow in Mexico, where they already have a network of 35 spaces.
“The places to work must meet certain physical characteristics, and especially Internet capacity and speed”.
Arango, mentioned that the most difficult thing to be an entrepreneur is to build credibility.
“At the beginning nobody trusts your idea, credibility is something that one should work long before starting, and the second is to make connections to do real business that allows you to get capital.
They go hand in hand with robotics
The European Economic Forum notes that 50% of the work can now be replaced by technology, which is why the idea of creating the Robotics Institute in Chile emerged.
Francisco Véjar, head of the idea, explained that they develop different learning strategies for different stages of education from primary, secondary and high school to strengthen the skill of competition and thus reduce the labor gap for the future, “that if we do not digitize , we do not prepare, we will eat the development to the Latin American region”.
He added that they are focused on learning strategies for advanced and applied technology so that students know how to operate, but also develop certain prototypes and speak native languages.
“We develop educational programs for students, for teachers, specialists, and we are also focused on bringing this technology training to rural schools to promote their development”, explained the technology director.
Among its objectives is to take the information through digital platforms to countries such as Mexico, and to have offices in the capital of the Country and Monterrey.
Three years after they started, today they are selected as one of the 15 main startups in Chile.
Also published on Medium.