At an event organized in Buenos Aires by two accelerators that aim to encourage a larger presence of women in male-dominated businesses, three young female founders presented their startups, which aim to disrupt industries — mental health treatments, agriculture, and medical data.

The presentation was organized by Emprendedoras LAC and WeInvest, two initiatives that, since 2012 and 2019, respectively, have sought to close the gap in representation and funding for women in Latin America’s entrepreneurial and investment ecosystem.

“All three projects are scalable globally, will have a significant impact on improving people’s health, and their economic impact will stem from having successfully identified the right business model based on the genuine and compelling value proposition they offer,” said Marta Cruz, co-founder of WeInvest andEmprendedoras LAC, as well as managing partner of NXTP Ventures, one of the pioneering technology investment funds in Latin America’s venture capital industry.

“After investing in more than 30 or 40 companies, I realized that I wasn’t seeing any companies led by women. The typical photo with all men and just one woman. I said: ‘We have to do something,’” Cruz retold. 

She claims that the startup environment is highly male-dominated and that men receive preferential treatment.

“Investors asked men questions about growth. They asked women questions about risk mitigation. To the first: ‘How soon will you expand regionally?’ To the second: ‘If you don’t close the funding round, how will you survive?’” she illustrates.

That’s why, together with Susana García Robles, she founded WeInvest in 2019 — a community of female investors focused on Latin America that now........

© Buenos Aires Herald