Excerpts from Impact of Early Stage Equity Funds in Latin America: Progresa Capital

In April 2015, the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, commissioned the research team to prepare a report on the effectiveness of some recent venture capital (VC) fund investments in Latin America. This report contains the research team's findings. This report focuses on three funds in which the MIF has invested. Using these funds as case studies, chosen to represent different investment approaches and company stages, the team explores two dimensions of impact: first, the direct impact of fund managers on portfolio companies is considered, and then the indirect impact created by portfolio companies in their communities and the region is examined. In addition to addressing the broader question of impact, the report also profiles two investments from each fund's portfolio. In these "minicases" the ways in which the fund managers add value to their companies are presented. In this way the MIF continues to examine its performance and share its lessons with others who seek to reduce poverty and improve the economic vitality of Latin America and other emerging countries.