Colombian VC Firm Marathon Ventures Raises $26 Million USD For Early Stage Investments

Bogotá based venture capital fund Marathon Ventures has announced the closing of its first fund with $26 million USD to invest in approximately 20 Fintech, SaaS and B2B marketplace ventures. So far, the fund has invested in eight platforms.

Marathon has invested in companies serving small and medium sized businesses like Meru, Estoca, Sumer and Tul along with companies serving larger enterprises such as Hello Guru, Welbe, and Neivor.

“The first wave of successful companies in Latin America digitized the consumer and we believe the next wave of successful companies will build business-facing solutions that help leapfrog the competition,” said Alejandro Echavarria, co-founder and Managing Partner of Marathon Ventures. “For example, we believe small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) are sleeping giants and we are very excited about solutions that leverage SaaS and B2B marketplaces to enable them for success.”

According to Crunchbase, Latin America saw $19.5B in investments in 2021, more than triple from previous annual investments, making it the fastest-growing region in the world for VC funding in 2021. The potential growth in the region seems set to continue with massive, record-breaking investments in Latin American tech companies.

“Many people praise the technology adoption driven by the pandemic for the spike in investment in Latin America, but really it’s the first cohort of startup alumni and experienced founders with a history of formidable execution that helped global funds warm up to the region,” said Pablo Navarro, co-founder and Operating Partner of Marathon Ventures. “Marathon’s mission is to maximize the potential of talent in emerging markets. Our approach is to invest in promising operators, at the earliest stage by matching them with some of the best companies in the ecosystem, while at the same time helping our select group of portfolio companies build teams and products faster.”

Above photo: Marathon Ventures co-founders Alejandro Echavarria – Managing Partner, Pablo Navarro – Operating Partner, and Leon Papu – Managing Partner