Women STEMpreneurs Competition 2020

THE CALL FOR APPLICATIONS IN NOW CLOSED

The call for application for the Women STEMpreneurs Competition 2020 is now open – a competition to reward the most innovative and dynamic women entrepreneurs in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in Latin America and the Caribbean, with a potential access to financing.

This competition is part of the 8th edition of WeXchange, the largest platform in Latin America and the Caribbean that connects and strengthens women STEMpreneurs — founded by IDB Lab, the IDB Group’s innovation laboratory (IDB Lab is the Multilateral Investment Fund, managed by the Inter-American Development Bank). The partner in charge of organizing the competition is Angel Ventures, a regional venture capital fund focused on early-stage and early-growth companies.

If you are woman founder or co-founder of a startup in the process of raising capital (seed, Pre Series A, Series A/B), come apply! You may be one of the 12 lucky finalists who will get to pitch before a jury of international investors during the WeXchange 2020 forum, held virtually between November 10-12, 2020.

The competition will be selecting 6 finalists in the Seed category and 6 finalists in the Pre-Series A, Series A/B category, according to the criteria indicated below.

WHO CAN APPLY?

Startups with at least one woman in the founding team. The woman founder will present and apply for the respective startup.
Startups with a high technological component, or startups in which Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) consist of a key piece of their business in sectors such as fintech, edtech, agtech, healthtech, biotech, e-commerce, transportation/mobility, logistics, digital security, cleantech, tourism, SaaS for SMEs, among others.
Startups with headquarters and operations in at least one country in Latin America and/or the Caribbean.
Startups with highly scalable business models with a plan/potential to scale at a regional and/or global level; startups with high potential for social and/or environmental impact.

AWARDS

Financing of the IDB Lab. IDB Lab would select a startup among the finalists in the Pre-Series A, Series A/B category for a potential financing of up to USD 1 million (in equity investment, SAFE, convertible note or debt financing). *

Fast-track for acceleration and seed capital of 500 LatAm Startups. 500 Startups LatAm would select up to two startups among the finalists in the seed category, who will get access to a fast track selection process for the first batch of 2021, which can lead to a potential participation in its pre-seed capital acceleration and investment program.

Premium access to partner venture capital funds. The finalists of both categories will have premium access to partners of the following venture capital funds in the region for a consideration of potential investment due diligence, depending on each startup’s alignment with each fund’s investment thesis **

SELECTION CRITERIA

Founding team, previous experience and team capacity.
Differentiator and/or any disruptive element of the proposed solution.
Market size and growth potential.
Scale potential.
Potential for social and/or environmental impact.
Performance and traction to date.

SELECTION PROCESS

Stage 1: Call for applications open via F6S.

Stage 2: Evaluation of proposals. Selection and announcement of 12 finalists. Over 50 accelerator investors, company builders and venture capital funds from the region will be participating as evaluators.

Meet the jury!

Stage 3: November 10-11. Live final pitch of 12 finalists during the WeXchange forum. Announcement of companies selected by the IDB Lab and partner venture capital funds to continue the due diligence process for potential investment.

HOW TO APPLY?

The application will be made through the F6S application platform.
Only applications that fully meet the evaluation criteria and requirements will be reviewed.

QUESTIONS?

Please send your questions to eacuna@angelventures.vc or fcerna@angelventures.vc, cc’ing wexchange@iadb.org

* Subject to internal eligibility processes, due diligence, approval of the IDB Lab Donors Committee and signing of the respective contracts.
** Subject to alignment with the investment thesis, due diligence process and approval of the investment committee of the respective fund.

NOTICE AS TO DISCLAIMERS AND RESERVATION OF RIGHTS

The IDB reserves the right to eliminate participants at any part of the process and this decision shall be final and binding. The IDB may decide to not select an Applicant if the submissions did not meet the requirements or did not have sufficient quality.
The IDB may search for publicly available information regarding Applicants and may seek to verify details referenced in the application. The IDB reserves the right to cancel the competition at any time.
All decisions of the IDB are final and binding, with no process for appeal.
Applicants that submit content that is offensive, illegal, etc, and those that disparage the IDB or other sponsors will be eliminated.
IDB will not consider participants who are ineligible to participate in IDB projects or contracting under its sanctions protocol.
Applicants must attest that the submittal is original and that they are not infringing on any copyrights or other intellectual property. Any such infringement may result in disqualification. Applicants are responsible for all content such as photos, images, videos, graphics, written content, audio files, information, or data uploaded or submitted.
The IDB will not be responsible to maintain the intellectual property of the proposals submitted.
In order to receive IDB funding, selected Applicants must sign an agreement with the IDB which includes relevant commitments, representations, and grants of indemnity by the Applicant.
IDB reserves the right to disseminate and share the identity of the Applicants and any other information deemed relevant.
These terms and conditions may be updated at any time and will be made available to all participants online.