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05/30/13 | Uncategorized

Success for 7 Female Founders in 500 Mexico City’s Newest Batch of Startups

Today 500 Mexico City announces its latest batch of startups. 18 firms have made the cut and no less than seven have female founders.

By Amy Noble (Guest Editor, Women 2.0)

Having successfully graduated their first batch of 10 startups earlier in the year, 500 Mexico City has this morning released a list of startups that are about to join the company’s portfolio. These companies hail from 10 cities around Mexico, from Tijuana to Cancun. There are also two new companies from outside the country included in the portfolio. Each will receive investment and enter a five-month acceleration process in Mexico City.

Considering the accelerator is pursuing only 7% of the 250 investment proposals it’s received, it’s fantastic to discover that no less than seven of these startups are founded by women.

“These founders are not great female founders; they are are great founders, period,” César Salazar, Venture Partner at 500 Mexico City told Women 2.0. “In Mexico we tend to see more female founders than in other places but still not enough.”

Let’s Hear It For the Girls…

Here are the profiles of the seven female-founded startups that have made the grade:

  • Calzaclick – The largest community of shoe lovers in Latin America.
  • Conekta – Stripe for Mexico. Selling, charging and shipping has never been this easy.
  • Wishbird – A marketplace for experiences, from driving a Ferrari to a spa day.
  • Mèxico Destinos – Travel as you Google.
  • Weele – Learn languages from real people without leaving home.
  • MyCoffeeBox – An online subscription service to get the best organic coffee from Chiapas delivered to your door.
  • Desde el Ring – Know exactly when and where to watch your favorite teams play.

While Salazar notes it’s “great” to have a balanced environment in the accelerator, he adds that “most women in the ecosystem don’t take leading roles. Even founding women tend to leave the CEO role to their male peer. This is something that’s changing thanks to people like May Alba, Cristina Randall, Celeste North or Claudia de Heredia who are very visible role models in the community, both for men and women.” Hopefully, this latest class of 500 Mexico City startups will produce more role models and encourage even more female entrepreneurs to pursue their startup dreams.

Interested in learning more about entrepreneurial ecosystems like the one 500 Mexico City is fostering? Women 2.0’s own Shaherose Charania is joining Salazar on a panel to discuss the topic tonight at EmTech in Mexico City.

Women 2.0 readers: Are enough female founders applying to accelerators ?

About the guest blogger: Amy is a freelance editor and writer based in London. She has also worked as a scriptwriter for a number of London-based video production companies and as a translator from French to English. She studied Modern Languages at Queens’ College, Cambridge and is currently studying for a Diploma in Translation at the London Metropolitan University.

 

Photo credit: Franz Jachim via Flickr.

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