Local funds and investment networks become key for Latin startups

Expanding to another country involves much more than replicating a successful business model. Startups must re-validate their customers, adapt their business strategies, and prepare for sales cycles that may be longer than anticipated. They also need to build relationships that allow them to access new business and investment opportunities.

For the Argentine entrepreneur and founder of 401 Accelerator, local funds play an important role because they know entrepreneurs and the particularities of their markets closely.

“A local fund does not compete with international capital: it enables it. They are those who are on the ground, those who know the founder when it is still an idea, those who separate the noise from the signal in their own market,” he explains. The importance of these connections responds to a gap that he identified during his career as an entrepreneur.

Before expanding, he recommends that startups be clear about their value proposition, have a business model that does not depend exclusively on the personal contacts of their founders, and have the resources to face longer-than-expected sales cycles.

“If traction in your country still depends on you and your contacts, you are not ready to scale abroad: you are going to double the chaos, not the business.” Regarding the Peruvian ecosystem, it identifies entrepreneurs with great ambition and competitive talent costs, although it warns that there is still less availability of early capital and a lack of references who have followed the path of international expansion.

However, it highlights the potential of local talent. “Peruvian and Andean talent is undervalued, and local funds have a privileged position to identify it from the early stages.”

During Peru Tech Week 2026, Barbero held conversations with entrepreneurs, investors and organizations. From these approaches, he identifies an opportunity for the Peruvian ecosystem: taking advantage of its entrepreneurial talent to develop businesses with international reach.

Along this path, it is considered essential to validate the business model in the local market and build international connections from the early stages, with a clear premise: “think global from day one.”

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Published: 11/8/2026