It’s no secret that we believe startups are a powerful driver of innovation and economic development. In addition to our commitment of backing diverse founders around the world, you’ll often hear us talking about “ecosystem building” as a key pillar of what we do. But how do these programs and partnerships create meaningful global impact? Our latest partnership with Innovate Peru is just one example of how a program can have exponential impact on a startup ecosystem.

Innovate Peru is the Peruvian government agency in charge of increasing business productivity by strengthening the players in the innovation ecosystem (companies, entrepreneurs and support entities) and facilitating relations among them. Our newly forged relationship is designed to support two of those key stakeholders: the entrepreneurs and the support entities, specifically the 26 accelerator networks that currently exist in Peru. In addition to training seed-stage startups in the region, we’ll also be training local accelerator managers through our BAM (Bootcamp for Accelerator Managers), unlocking the potential to tap hundreds more founders beyond this program.

With applications having launched on April 29th, the fully virtual ACELERA Perú by 500 Startups program will welcome up to 50 participants to our two-week Foundations of Growth bootcamp. The top 20 startups from the bootcamp will then move on to receive six additional weeks of programming and coaching before presenting their ventures at one of our Digital Demo Days. Applications for the program will close May 30, 2021.

This program will be conducted entirely in Spanish and tap 500’s global network of mentors, leveraging those with a deep understanding of LatAm market penetration and global expansion.

“Our engagement with Innovate Peru will enable us to fuel the growth of the Peruvian ecosystem by bringing world-class programming that’s highly contextualized and tailored to meet the needs of the Peruvian market. We have seen startups build their business and exit, such as Cinepapaya which sold to Fandango, and we are excited to see more successful cases,” says Bedy Yang, Managing Partner at 500 Startups.

In parallel to the accelerator program, BAM will be accepting two participants from each of the 26 accelerators and incubators across Peru. This program will equip them with a playbook of attracting top-talent and successfully managing their own accelerator programs, enabling future generations of Peruvian founders to succeed at scale.

Interested in learning more about the Accelerator program and BAM? Visit the ACELERA Perú by 500 Startups website.

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Peru

500 Startups and Innovate Peru Partner to Scale Early Stage Startups in Peru