The winners were selected from 16 finalists during the LATAM Region Seedstars World competition, which bills itself as the largest seed-stage startup competition for emerging markets. The contenders were selected and named at the Seedstars Summit LATAM in Medellin Colombia November 27th to 29th.

Selected companies:

1. Ribon, Brazil, donation platform for millennials
2. Mynkana, Ecuador, the uber of market research.
3. Mesa, Chile, bringing diners to restaurants at off-peak times
4. Evimed, Uruguay, online education for medical professionals
5. Ruedata, Colombia, data analytics to boost efficiency in bus and truck fleets
6. Afinidata, Guatemala, the smart early childhood tutor
7. Pixdea, Costa Rica, education through VR classroom programs
8. Manzana Verde, Peru, a subscription service for healthy meals
9. Baubap, Mexico, a financial inclusion platform
   

   Colombian Surfing Champion & motivational speaker Freddy Marimón has won multiple gold medals even though he has no legs.

More than just an entrepreneur’s conference, the Seedstars Summit LATAM was an opportunity for all stakeholders involved to network, gain knowledge, and build relationships with investors. For the first time, the event was open to other startups outside of the SSW competition including the Seedstars & Apps.co Expansion Program delegation of 10 Colombian startups in the process of internationalization.

Prior to the main Summit day, 35 participating startups completed an intensive growth Bootcamp at Medellin’s municipal incubator Ruta N, focused on scaling up their businesses, followed by the Investor Forum at the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (UPB) sponsored by Amazon. The startups had over 150 one-to-one meetings with recognized local and international mentors and investors such as Brazil’s Monashees, Mexico’s Redwood Ventures, Washington DC based Village Capital and others.

November 29 was designated Summit Day, when the startups delivered 3-minute pitches on the main stage in front of more than 350 hand-picked ecosystem builders, corporates, investors, and startup enthusiasts representing some of the most prominent names of tech and entrepreneurship in Latin America. The Summit also featured workshops and speakers from global and regional companies, like Hubspot, Procolombia, Orlando Reyes (Co-Founder at Wisy) and Colombian surfing champion Freddy Marimon.

“I was impressed by the quality and diversity of startups looking for solutions in Latin America, the diversity of the sector was also pleasantly surprising,”—Anna Raptis, founder of Amplifica Capital.

“The Seedstars event in Medellin brought the most important agents for entrepreneurship in Latin America together. It was incredible to see new and old faces forming part of this ecosystem of knowledge and experience.” Said  Rafael Obando from HubspotSponsors included Ruta N, the Swiss Embassy of Colombia, Avianca, Amazon AWS, ISA and the UPB, with the media support of France24, & Entrepreneur .All photos courtesy of Seedstars