After two years of the pandemic, the number of transactions by local startups has broken records compared to previous years. Investments in the sector amounted to US $ 1,337.2 million. In total, 110 transactions were completed, according to a Microsoft study with the Argentine Association of Private, Entrepreneurial and Seed Capital (ARCAP).

It happens that the Argentine entrepreneurial ecosystemfor the level of innovation and human talent, is driving digital change of thousands of SMEs and large companies. The sectors where there has been more investment are biotechnology, software, AgTech and FinTech, according to the survey.

“Currently, one of the major challenges when it comes to entrepreneurship is scale projects. However, thanks to the democratization of multiple platforms, connectivity and the higher rate of users, it is now possible to approach it differently. At this point Microsoft for Startups seeks to add value, organization and build synergy with the ecosystem and the people who make it up, ”said Mariano Amartino, Microsoft’s director for Startups Americas.

“The record of investment in Entrepreneurial Capital that took place in Argentina in 2021 is part of the growth in the region, where investment in 2021 alone exceeded the total value of the last years combined. The interesting thing about the phenomenon is that Latin America still has a lot of room to continue to grow and is very material in terms of human capital, innovation and business development. ”declared Lorena Suárez, president of ARCAP.

“That the volume of investment is growing so much is good news because startups are a means of social, economic development and environmental adjustment. For this reason, Entrepreneurial Capital plays an important role in a country and a region where there are so many challenges to be solved ”, the study pointed out.

Microsoft’s study shows that of the 110 transactions executed, 66 correspond to Seed Capital and 44 to Venture Capital. Seed Capital transactions are operations that usually go on from US $ 25,000 to US $ 1 million. This is a round of financing that allows the venture to enter the market and test or validate the response of customers and in some cases will be deployed nationwide.

Investments to be considered Venture Capital is that over US $ 1 million. “Venture Capital managers validate market traction and invest capital that enables scalability,” explains the ARCAP study, adding that since 2016 there has been a sustained growth trend in the number of transactions of this type of capital.

To strengthen and expand the ecosystem of startups, digital native companies and entrepreneurs, Microsoft for Startups launched the Founders Hub, a platform designed to address the key challenges facing the sector, available to anyone who wants to promote an idea.