500 Startups Launches LatAm Office, Chooses 18 Startups for Acceleration

Capital venture firm 500 Startups has set up a Latin American office in Mexico City, selecting 18 young enterprises for its sixth round of a startup acceleration program in the region.
Among the selected startups are Mexico’s online retailer of fashion goods #LOOKEA, a homecare marketplace for the elderly Asistia, and Argentina’s accounting and analytics service provider for ecommerce firms EcomExperts.
Other startups in the list include Backstartup, Buenchef, Civica Digital, Deporprivé, Easy Point, HostTonight and HoyPido. Startups from Chile and Colombia are also among them, but there is no startup representing Brazil, because the program is limited to the region’s Spanish-speaking countries.
The selected firms cover a wide range of industries including e-commerce, education, SaaS, food tech, logistics, government services, and tourism, according to the accelerator.
The accelerator, which so far invested in 91 young enterprises in the region, says it conducted more than 100 founder interviews in the past few weeks to identify the prospective entrepreneurs. Each company will receive $65,000 in investment and earn a chance to participate in the four month training program.
At these training sessions, founders will be taught how to master the common but essential features of their business such as marketing, finance, and legal, as well as product development.
Each week, specialized mentors will address the session, they will bring both local, and international expertise, said the accelerator in a statement.
Training programs will take place in the Mexico City office, which 500 startups says can accommodate up to 150 people.