PUNTA DEL ESTE, Uruguay--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Endeavor invited 24 High-Impact Entrepreneurs from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay to join its network at its 41st International Selection Panel. Endeavor now supports 656 High-Impact Entrepreneurs from 413 companies in 12 emerging market countries. The entrepreneurs were chosen at a Panel held from December 7 through 9 in Punta del Este, Uruguay.
“This panel highlights two clear trends in the kinds of entrepreneurs we are finding in Latin America,” said Endeavor co-founder and CEO Linda Rotenberg. “First are Diamonds, relatively young companies, often in the tech area, that have the potential to scale dramatically, expand globally and are increasingly magnets for venture capital and foreign investment to the region. The second are Growth Engines, companies that have the potential to add hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs. Endeavor’s success in selecting and mentoring these types of high-impact companies is what contributes to building a true entrepreneurial eco-system in the region.”
The International Selection Panel is the culmination of a rigorous multi-step Search & Selection process where top local and international business leaders interview and then offer feedback and guidance to entrepreneur candidates. Endeavor’s next scheduled International Selection Panel will be held in Dubai in March. Post-selection, Endeavor provides entrepreneurs with customized services provided by local business mentors and volunteers from Fortune 500 consulting firms and top U.S. business schools. Endeavor Entrepreneurs have had a significant track record of creating thousands of jobs and building sustainable growth models in their home countries.
Entrepreneur(s)/Companies selected:
Argentina
Entrepreneur: Martín S. Frascaroli
Company: Aivo
Description: Founded in Córdoba in 2002, Aivo develops automated, chat-based customer service agents that intelligently recognize, interpret and respond to written client questions.
Argentina
Entrepreneur: Cristian Schweizer
Company: Axeso5
Description: Axeso5 is an Argentinean online game company that publishes free to play online games for the Latin American market. Cristian Schweizer (46) founded Axeso5 in 2008 and today is one of the largest online game communities in Latin America with 4.2M registered users across 20 countries. Axeso5’s revenue comes from the purchase of in-game virtual goods.
Argentina
Entrepreneur: Mariano Nuñez Di Croce, Victor Montero
Company: Onapsis
Description: Founded in late 2009, Onapsis is a software development firm that performs automated SAP security assessments that help clients reduce their risk of losing critical data, better enforce compliance and reduce auditing costs.
Brazil
Entrepreneurs: Carlos Balma, Ricardo Buckup, Felipe Ribeiro
Company: B2
Description: Founded in 2002, B2 organizes premium graduation events for Brazil’s universities and serves as a marketing platform for brands and advertisers to access Brazil’s burgeoning youth market.
Brazil
Entrepreneur: Carlos and Noeli Bazanella (husband & wife team)
Company: Doce D’ocê
Description: Founded in 2000 by husband-and-wife team Carlos and Noeli Bazanella, Doce D’ocê provides bakery outsourcing services to suppliers of all sizes—from corner bakeries to large supermarket chains—throughout southern Brazil.
Brazil
Entrepreneur: Diego Martins and Paulo Alencastro
Company: Acesso Digital
Description: São Paulo-based Acesso Digital has been providing Brazilian businesses with a comprehensive electronic document management solution since 2007. The company’s offering has allowed more than 800 small, medium and large enterprises to quickly, conveniently and safely digitize documents needed to run their businesses.
Chile
Entrepreneur: Patricio Catalán & Gonzalo Santamarina
Company: Innovex
Description: Founded in 2007, Innovex is an aquaculture technology company dedicated to equipment and software development for fish farms.
Chile
Entrepreneur: Santiago Querol
Company: Laserpack
Description: Based in Arauco, Chile, Laserpack applies laser-cutting technology to medium-density fiberboard to produce premium packaging that is biodegradable, splinterless and easily assembled without nails or staples.
Chile
Entrepreneur: Valentina and Paula Valverde (sisters)
Company: Valverde Norambuena
Description: Founded in 1985, family-run Valverde Norambuena designs and sells innovative, fun and fashionable children’s clothing throughout Chile under three brands: Limonada, Maite, and Black and Blue.
Colombia
Entrepreneur: Alberto Lederman, Jorge Andrés Osorio
Company: Aranda Software
Description: Founded in 2002, Aranda Software is an IT infrastructure and services management company with offices in 11 countries in Latin America.
Mexico
Entrepreneur: Arturo Galván Contreras
Company: Naranya
Description: Founded in 2002, Naranya is the leading provider of mobile content in Latin America, a market of 530 million mobile users. Naranya is a pioneer in developing mobile entertainment content services for Latin America and has more recently branched into the mobile marketing and applications markets.
Mexico
Entrepreneur: Jesus Manuel Jimenez Garcia
Company: Mister Tennis
Description: Founded in Puebla in 1987, Mister Tennis is now a chain of 106 retail stores across 14 Mexican states that sells athletic footwear, clothing and accessories.
Uruguay
Entrepreneur: Sebastián Lateulade
Company: TodoTVMedia
Description: Founded in 2004, TodoTVMedia produces both print and online media covering the television industry in the Americas.
Uruguay
Entrepreneur: Álvaro García, Ariel Burschtin, Ruben Sosenke
Company: PedidosYa
Description: Founded in 2009 by three recent college graduates, PedidosYa offers an online solution for ordering food delivery, bringing together restaurants and users in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Puerto Rico and Uruguay.
About Endeavor
Hailed by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman as “the best anti-poverty program of all,” Endeavor is leading the global movement to catalyze long-term economic growth by selecting, mentoring, and accelerating the best high-impact entrepreneurs around the world. To date, Endeavor has screened more than 28,000 entrepreneurs and selected 656 individuals leading 413 high-impact companies.
With support from Endeavor’s worldwide mentor network, these high-impact entrepreneurs:
-Have created over 156,000 jobs
-Generated over $4.5 billion in revenues in 2010
-Inspire future generations to innovate and take risks
Headquartered in New York City, Endeavor currently operates in 15 countries throughout Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. As the high-impact movement expands globally, Endeavor will continue to prove that anyone with a big idea can succeed, from Silicon Valley to Latin America, the Middle East, and beyond.
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