Caricaco Summit 2025: the future of Central American Startups in the eyes of investors
Melissa Guevara arrived at Caricaco Ventures after experiencing the challenging path that every startup founder faces. In 2015, she launched her company in the nutrition sector, a risky venture in an emerging ecosystem in Costa Rica. Throughout the process, she admits that many times she felt alone.
Her story took a turn during the pandemic when her Nutrition App experienced exponential growth, eventually being acquired by a company. Eight years later, as part of the Caricaco Ventures team, Melissa highlights the importance of events like Caricaco Summit. For her, these initiatives not only strengthen the startup ecosystem in the region but also attract the attention of investors, boosting recognition of talent and the capacity of Central American startups.
What does the realization of Caricaco Summit represent to you, and what impact do you think it will have on the entrepreneurial ecosystem?
It is a very significant milestone for the region. Last year, we held a pilot version of this event, and it was a success, which obviously led us to decide to do it again this year. We hope that it becomes a permanent event on the calendar of all relevant stakeholders in the venture capital industry in the region.
Caricaco Summit 2025 strengthens connections and builds invaluable personal relationships for startups, investors, and ecosystem partners. What we aim to do is put Central American founders on the map and give them a platform to have a global growth perspective from here.
We are convinced that with this event now, in the short term, and in the next 5 years, the VC ecosystem in the region will catalyze startup growth, attract more investments, and that this is one of our main impact outcomes.
In your experience, what role do venture capital events play in the economic development of Central America?
They are fundamental, especially in a region like Central America, where the entrepreneurial ecosystem is still developing. We know we can't compare ourselves to Brazil, Mexico, or the United States, but that's the goal.
Such events act as innovation catalysts, fostering strategic connections, the birth of new startups, idea generation, and ultimately, job creation.
In the long term, we aim to position Central America as a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship. Initiatives like Caricaco Summit accelerate this process, as what we achieve in one year can be multiplied exponentially in just one day of the event.
As an expert in venture capital, how do you see the future of startups in Central America, and what sectors do you see with the greatest growth potential?
I see the future of startups in Central America as a very promising one. We are behind as a region, and we know that Central America has large, complex, and structural problems. Problems with logistics, payments, etc. These aren't simple problems that can be solved with just an app.
However, the potential is huge. There's room for creativity, disruption, and the development of digital and technological infrastructure. One of the sectors with the greatest opportunity is healthcare, which is facing growing saturation as diseases rise. There's vast potential for innovation in medical technology, prevention, and diagnostics. Many solutions are already underway in other regions, and I hope that in the coming years, these technologies will reach Central America.
But Central America is not really a unified region; we are a series of small countries where coordination is not strategic. There are no correct incentives to position us as a region. So, any solution that seeks to unify Central America as a region definitely has a lot of potential.
What are the main challenges Central America faces in venture capital and startups, and what is needed for the region to stand out in the Latin American ecosystem?
Access to capital. Because you can have great ideas, an excellent team, but at the end of the day, you need money to build. And access to capital is difficult, it's expensive. It depends on who you know and if you have access to connections in the industry.
At Caricaco Ventures, we talk a lot about community building and strengthening as a community. Having strategic spaces and interaction.
Caricaco was born in 2015 as an academy and business incubator. What led you, six years later, to institutionalize as a venture fund?
I met Caricaco in 2017. It started as an idea by Amadeo Quirós, the founder, who shared his failure stories with the vision of possibly helping someone else.
It was born as an academy and naturally became a business incubator because many entrepreneurs who created companies came out of that chain and would return asking for advice and help. It got to the point where there were so many entrepreneurs. In fact, Amadeo made angel investments with several of those entrepreneurs who went through the academy.
We had to get our house in order. In 2021, we consolidated as an institutional investor, bringing in an investment team, communications, and this has allowed us to support these entrepreneurial communities much more effectively. What do we do now? We are no longer an academy, nor an incubator; we are investors.
We provide capital, but we continue to provide much more than capital. In reality, that’s the added value, not only ours but any investor's. What else can you give beyond money? Because to get money, I can go to a bank.
So, what is an investor? It’s someone who can help you strategically, open doors, provide business connections, hire a team, give mentorship. That’s what we try to do as an investment team and also have around us a great network of allies and experts who can help in very specific topics for the companies in our portfolio.
What have been the key strategies and success factors that have helped Caricaco Ventures position itself as a key investor in the region and ecosystem?
I believe one very important factor is that we differentiate ourselves from all other investors in the region by our strategy. We only invest in teams of Central American origin. Startups must have at least one co-founder of Central American origin. Currently, we have 20 companies in our portfolio, spread across Central America, but also all over the world. We only want to invest in Central Americans because we believe they have the talent and potential to grow globally.
We like to say we are the first ticket, the first door for entrepreneurs, and after that initial ticket, we also help them in subsequent fundraising rounds, with our monetary support or the network of expert contacts who can accompany them as the companies grow.
What type of investors are part of Caricaco Ventures?
I would say that what we've done is generate interest among various types of investors. We’ve democratized access to capital. Making investing in startups desirable for investors, explaining how it works, how the startup model works, what they can expect, what’s the best way to invest, and how to do business this way.
Why is Caricaco Summit 2025 a key event for the region, startups, and investors?
If I had to define it in one word, it would be "platform." Caricaco Summit has been designed to be the meeting point where entrepreneurs, investors, and key players in the ecosystem can connect, learn, and generate growth opportunities. More than an event, it is a space where alliances are born, businesses are consolidated, and the region's talent is boosted.
How many startups have received investment from Caricaco in the region?
So far, we’ve invested in 22 startups, 20 of which are still active, with a presence in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. In our first year, all the startups were in Costa Rica, but today we’ve managed to diversify, with more than 50% of the active investments in El Salvador. This growth shows that the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Central America is evolving, and with the right capital and support, the region’s startups can reach new heights.