By Narayan Ammachchi

Start-up accelerator Wayra and MercadoLibre have joined forces to fund and train early-stage technology entrepreneurs in Argentina. The e-commerce portal MercadoLibre said it would ‘co-invest in certain ventures’ selected by Wayra, a start-up accelerator from Spanish telecom giant Telefonica.

The agreement comes weeks after Wayra issued a call for young entrepreneurs to send in their applications for venture capital by May 26.  The e-commerce portal is likely to invest in companies capable of creating new applications and services to its community of buyers and sellers. MercadoLibre recently announced the launch of an investment fund of $ 10 million that will be entirely focused on new ventures that use their platforms.

According to analysts, MercadoLibre’s aim is to strengthen the e-commerce ecosystem in the region it operates. MercadoLibre is “an ideal partner for acceleration and internationalization of our companies,” said Andrew Sabol, Country …

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By Jon Tonti

Some small to medium sized software providers in Latin America seek specialization in business verticals and languages while others do not.  Experience can create value, but is method or know-how the principle ingredient.  NSAM talked to four Nearshore software development experts to understand how providers find their niches and how important those niches really are.

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By Narayan Ammachchi

The Brazilian Ministry of Science & Technology is offering funding to overseas technology companies interested in developing innovative software and IT services inside Brazil – a move reminiscent of CORFO’s (Chile) creation of StartUp Chile launch several years ago.

The government has allocated 25 slots for foreign tech start-ups in its “Start-Up Brasil” accelerator program designed to foster innovation in Brazil’s software and information technology services industry.

“Shortlisted enterprises will be eligible for up to US$ 596,000 in funds,” said the Ministry in a statement.

‘Start-Up Brasil’ has a budget of US$ 19.8 million and aims to support 75 domestic companies besides their foreign counterparts.

“We want to encourage entrepreneurs in the area of information technology. This area is strategically important for us to develop new business for Brazil,” said Brazil’s Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Marco Antonio Raupp.

Participating companies are required to have been operational since the past three years and to develop …

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By Narayan Ammachchi

Chile received more than US$ 9 billion in foreign direct investment in the first quarter of this year, according to official figures released this week.

The FDI inflow increased 87 percent compared to $4.87 billion received in the previous three months. More than five billions dollars flowed into the country in March, the highest monthly foreign investment in the past 16 months, according to the Central Bank.

According to ECLAC, Chile received more than 30 billion USD in foreign direct investment in 2012, making it the second largest FDI recipient in the region after Brazil.

Last year, Latin America and the Caribbean set a record in foreign direct investment (FDI) (6.7% more than in 2011), despite  international conditions characterized by shrinking FDI flows worldwide.

Chile has also stepped up its investment elsewhere in the region. “Outward direct investment by LAC countries came …

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By James Bargent

For high street bookstores, squeezed by the explosion in e-books from one side and the dominance of online retailers like Amazon on the other, the death rattle has been sounding. However, for an enterprising pair of literature lovers backed by a nearshore software development team, the new digital age has instead been marked by the sound of opportunity.

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Capturing the systemic and noteworthy advancements in Mexico economics, IT and political leadership over recent months, Nearshore Americas today announces a special series of white papers that will be published in our pages over the next several months reporting on these newly arising market conditions.  

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By Narayan Ammachchi

U.S. low-cost airliner JetBlue has announced the introduction of daily flights between two American cities and the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince.

There will be daily flights to Haiti from both New York City and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, said the carrier in a press release.The service will begin on December 5, 2013.

JetBlue said it has plans to offer one daily flight to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and twice daily flights to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL).

On their arrival in Fort Lauderdale, passengers can catch flights to other destinations in the United States including Boston, MA; New York (JFK, LaGuardia and Westchester County); Newark, NJ; and Washington, DC (Reagan National).

Customers traveling on JetBlue’s new nonstop service from Port-au-Prince to New York will be able to connect to Buffalo, NY, Boston, MA, and Chicago, IL, among other destinations, …

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By Narayan Ammachchi

Brazilian investment firm, e.Bricks Digital, has launched a $100 million venture capital fund to support the prospective technology start-ups in the region.

São Paulo, Brazil-based e.Bricks Digital was established in October 2012 from the spin-off of the digital business unit of the RBS Group. The new fund is targeted toward early stage firms – based in the U.S. or Brazil – whose focus is to exploit growth in Latin America markets.

The company stated in a press release that it would make ‘strategic investments’ in start-ups in technology sectors including e-commerce, mobile and digital media.

e.Bricks – whose current portfolio includes Predicta, Wine.com.br, Grupo.Mobi – says it intends to invest in as many as 15 start-ups every year.

The venture fund is looking for companies with large market potential, annual pre-revenue turnover of $10 million, and a scalable business model.

Besides investments, …

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By Ann All

For many residents of Mexico, it rankled when Latin America got only a passing mention in a debate on foreign policy held shortly before the 2012 U.S. presidential race. It was Republican candidate Mitt Romney, not eventual winner President Barack Obama, who brought up Latin America, saying the region offered a “huge opportunity” for the U.S.

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By Narayan Ammachchi

Launching a business in Chile is far easier today than it was a few days ago. The Southern Cone has inaugurated an online platform that allows anyone to start a business in a matter of hours and at zero cost.

If you are planning to start a business, all you need to do is: Fill up a form specifying the characteristics of your company, such as the names of partners, the line of business and the capital investment.

The platform will absorb the information and create a document that will then be sent to the Internal Revenue Service, which will issue a taxpayer ID number.

Once you have got hold of the ID number, you can set your business in motion.

Chilean President Sebastián Piñera inaugurated the platform last week. This system has in fact become popular in countries such as New Zealand, Australia, Canada …

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