Twenty years after the expansion of the first Argentine Internet unicorns: is it possible to think of a new generation of companies that exceed US $ 1 billion?
Of course. But not exactly with the same criteria as two decades ago.
The next unicorns may not have the large sizes that Mercado Libre, Globant, OLX and Despegar were able to achieve.
In the future, entering that category will be more related to the social impact and economic development that they have, than to their stock market valuation.At least this is the vision shared by the new technology-based entrepreneurs that drive various initiatives in the country. And that they redefine the term of the following way: the new unicorns will be those that democratize the technological access and generate more employment.
In addition, they advance that these giants can come from three verticals: agtech, fintech and greentech. That is, companies that use technology to solve problems of agriculture, finance and ecology, respectively.
And, of, they are oriented towards the mobile market, like an app or another format that you can access from a cell phone.
"The finitech unicorns did not leave Argentina, I do not know how long it will take for another to emerge, because what we are looking for is to generate more impact," Gabriela Ruggieri, managing partner of the Overboost accelerator, told iProUP during the Mobile 360 Series that organized the GSMA
"In fact, these companies emerged in developed markets and are in another stage, in the region, there are several stages to be solved: 60% of the population is still not banked and the key is financial inclusion," he added.
According to the executive, the expectation is that, as the cell phone has a very high presence in the region, even more than in other parts of the world, "important things may appear out there"."You have to see what channels enable and have an impact to transform and thus become very important," Ruggieri added.
While Patricio D'Amato, head of Mobile of Despegar, the last two cases of unicorns in Latin America are focused on mobile applications.
And this is, in his vision, particularly significant "because there was no company native to the mobile world."
He was referring to Rappi and Cornershop, although other cases, mainly from Brazil, could be added.
According to the analysis of the Despegar executive, the unicorns will come on the side of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.
On the other hand, he insisted that the impact developments will arise on the side of mobile technology.
"I'm convinced this technology is democratizing, and in Latin America the cell phone is tremendously important," he added.
The differentiation with respect to what already exists will also be key. This was stated by the Association of Entrepreneurs of Argentina (ASEA), because they believe that this will be a way to get the most out of AI and machine learning.
Such technologies, although they are very much in vogue in debates, conferences and conferences, still remain little understood by the bulk of the population."We have to solidify the concept of what is being undertaken and see the differential: the unicorn is an interesting figure, but it is also necessary that there is a giving back in the local ecosystem," said Daniel Tricarico, from ASEA.
That is to say that, in addition to achieving a social impact, the other element that the new unicorns must gather is to return to the same ecosystem from which those benefits obtained at the time of their development arose.
The entrepreneurs agreed that it will be difficult for an agtech, or a fintech or a greentech to emerge from Argentina with a regional impact.
The reason: part of the success is more linked to the geographical conditions in which they are developed and that, possibly, are not replicated in other areas.
Even so, nobody rules out the appearance of an agtech or a greentech on a regional scale with a Latin stamp.
In Agtech and Fintech, the country has an important ecosystem.
In the first platoon, there are more than 300 companies dedicated to the activity, product of the high level of technology with which it is produced in the Argentine countryside.
In the second group, the story is similar. The latest IDB report, carried out jointly with the Argentine Chamber of Fintech, showed that there are 130 companies in the sector. A large part of them started operating five years ago.
At this point, Leonardo Valente, co-founder of LivePanel, warned that "Argentina has a country brand and not being a leader is unforgivable".
"I do not know how much will happen for a new unicorn to emerge again, but what is clear is that what is intended is to generate more impact," he said.
Valente drives several ventures. Among them, Socialpos, which seeks to expand financial inclusion by allowing neighborhood merchants to have technology to receive the benefits of social cards, which are distributed through the various plans of the Ministry of Social Development, as advanced iProUP.
The fact of taking advantage of the country brand with respect to the unicorns already known to promote the future that is created has to do -just- with following the steps of Mercado Libre, Despegar, OLX and Globant, even though the latter was developed several more years late than the first.
Will future unicorns that arise from Argentina or Latin America not have such a size? Not necessarily.
The focus will be on the impact. And, logically, if this effect is generalized at a regional level, its size will be in accordance with that characteristic."Mercado Libre generated an impact with SMEs, taking off, a cultural transformation in the way of buying travel and tourism, they took the first step and unlocked many obstacles," Globant inspired many to see an exit in a software factory, "said Valente.
While the focus is on the impact and generation of economic development of future unicorns, the path traced by the firm has two references that could become new cases of its kind.
One of them is Belatrix Software, of Mendoza origin, which has a development center in that province and another in the city of Buenos Aires. It also has offices outside the country: in Lima, Peru, and Bogotá, Colombia.
The other is Wolox, which already has offices in San Francisco, New York, Santiago de Chile and Medellín. A few weeks ago he received the Export 2018 award from President Mauricio Macri himself.
The concept of software factory, although it is a great generator of employment, also generates certain resistances in the sector, since, some consider, it does not manage to add a greater added value.
Specifically, that their services do not end in a product made in Argentina or contribute to the country brand. Although they agreed that this segment is a way forward in the industry.
Agtech. Greentech. Fintech The next unicorn of the region could emerge from one of these three segments. And with a basically mobile insertion.
Whether it is because of highly developed sectors, such as agriculture, or because there is a lot of work to be done, such as financial inclusion or the promotion of sustainable energies, those will be the verticals that promise greater success.