Although it’s just over half way through, 2020 has been far from a normal working year. As cases of COVID-19 continue to spread across Latin America at alarming rates, lockdown has many professionals working from home for the foreseeable future. But the tech and startup sectors continue to weather the challenges the pandemic is throwing their way.
With help from investors such as Visa in June, who through its Visa Everywhere initiative pledged to boost the economic recovery of small to medium sized businesses in the region, many tech startups are still looking to hire new talent. And incubators and accelerators such as Founder Institute continue to encourage young businesses to apply.
So, if COVID-19 has left you out of a job, or you are a small business looking for a boost in the right direction, look no further than this list of both emerging and established startups, incubators and accelerators to inspire you to get applying.
Talos Digital
Talos Digital is a global software development and e-commerce solutions company with large offices in Colombia, Canada and the United States. The company prides itself on five working mantras: stay curious, leave your ego at the door, be passionate, be hungry for challenges, and don’t be deterred. When it comes to employees, Talos prioritizes their learning and growth, and in online reviews of the company, former employees can vouch for this. They praise the “challenging and diverse projects,” that Talos gives them to work on, along with its in-house training and access to online courses that enable them to grow and develop as programmers. Additional perks include English lessons for anyone that needs them, enjoyable company culture, fruit and juice twice a week, and competitive salaries.
Loggi
Brazilian shipping logistics platform Loggi — which uses technology to create a logistics network that connects e-commerce, food delivery and courier services — has recently received funding of $150 million from SoftBank and Microsoft. In online reviews, former employees describe it as the “best Brazilian startup there is.” The company prides itself on respecting differences, with diversity and inclusion at the top of its priority list, standing explicitly in favor of disability inclusion, flexible working for parents, and against discrimination of the LGBTI+ community, the Afro-Brazilian population, and women. Professional growth and evolution is another top priority, made possible by a peer-to-peer and leadership evaluation process. Competitive salaries and a friendly company culture make up for the constant changes of a startup environment, which can become tiring for some.
Clip
Based in Mexico City, Clip is a financial services startup that offers portable card-reading hardware that accepts all credit and debit cards for businesses in Mexico. Clip was founded in 2012, and the company now employees approximately 500 people. It currently has open vacancies for curious people looking to be challenged, in a diverse and inclusive environment. Being a “Clipper” means learning every day, being adaptable, and having the opportunity to grow as a professional while being challenged by new projects. The office environment is laid-back and offers flexible hours, along with snacks, a pool table and ping-pong tournaments, creating a healthy work-life balance for all employees.
Abartys Health
Although the headquarter of health insurance tech startup Abartys Health is in San Juan, Puerto Rico, team members also have the option to work remotely. At Abartys Health, company values center around collaboration and teamwork, so much so that former employees have described it as a great place to bring ideas for growth and learning. The startup has also been praised for the opportunities it provides to network within the healthtech sector. Co-founded by two women, Lauren Cascio and Dolmarie Mendez, who were both single mothers when they started the business in 2015, gender diversity and flexible working hours for parents — especially mothers — is important for the company. At five years old, Abartys Health is still growing, but its mission to revolutionize the healthcare market is well under way.
Startup Mexico
Mexico’s first innovation hub for entrepreneurs has a great community feel, with over 200 people in its network and offices in Mexico City, Léon, Mérida, Querétaro and the border city of Nuevo Laredo. Startup Mexico invites students, entrepreneurs, mentors, investors and startups to become part of the community. Founded in 2013, the innovation hub employs around 70 people, who praise the lively working environment, collaboration and strong inter-departmental communication between co-workers.
Parallel18
Parallel 18 is a government-backed accelerator in the up-and-coming Santurce neighborhood in the capital of Puerto Rico, San Juan. Its tagline #WorkHardPlayTropical is enticing for startups from all over the world thinking of taking part in the program, which offers a five-month stay on the sunny island, where companies can work from the swanky co-working space, while soaking up the warm weather and Caribbean lifestyle. For an island whose economy relies heavily on tourism, 2020 has been another difficult year for Puerto Rico’s economy, with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic and a 6.4 magnitude earthquake at the beginning of the year, after the destruction already caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. Anyone hoping to work at Parallel18 will be part of the accelerator’s mission to drive innovative entrepreneurship in order to revitalize the island’s troubled economy.
Prometeo
Prometeo is an open banking platform aiming to modernize financial services in Latin America. The Uruguay-based startup acts as a central point for bank information, transaction information, and for making payments to different banks across the region. The company is currently connected to 25 financial institutions across Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, Ecuador, Chile and Argentina, which means that employees are in constant communication with different people from around the world. Prometeo are looking for committed, proactive, collaborative and empathetic people to become part of their growing team of less than a dozen employees, all with diverse backgrounds and experiences. The work environment is cheerful and flexible, as long as employees complete their tasks in hand, but also dynamic and focused on employee growth. Prometeo is especially committed to inclusion and looks to promote women to leadership positions.
Nubank Brasil
São Paulo-based Nubank is Latin America’s largest fintech company, with offices also in Mexico City, Buenos Aires, and a tech hub in Berlin. Composed of “the most creative professionals in the tech market,” the team at Nubank is diverse and international, young, sociable, and easy to work with, as well as learn from. Launched in 2014, the startup has grown hugely over the past few years, and now organizes its team into small squads, which have autonomy over their roles. This fast growth also offers employees the opportunity to really make a difference in Brazil’s current financial market, with the potential to scale that influence to other countries in Latin America.
Platzi
Colombian edtech platform Platzi, which creates online education courses in the field of technology, has seen a surge in users during the pandemic. The startup, which launched in Colombia in 2014, has since moved to Silicon Valley after being the first Latin American startup to be accepted into the Y Combinator accelerator program. Although the company has grown and expanded since then, Platzi still holds onto its startup feel, meaning that employees are constantly learning and adapting to new challenges and changes — even if this means having to learn from your mistakes. The advantage of this is that working at Platzi allows you to be able to define your own career path, and define and work on areas you wish to improve. And all the while you will be changing the lives of the students using the platform to learn.
This article includes a client of an Espacio portfolio company