Carao Ventures is an early-stage VC firm for small and medium sized markets in Latin America.
Carao was founded in 2012 in San José, Costa Rica and is led by Allan Boruchowicz. It is a pioneering and leading VC firm in Central America, with active investments in startups in the software, biotech, healthtech, fintech, artificial intelligence (AI), construction tech, and other industries. Carao has a distinctive business model specially designed to invest in early-stage venture opportunities in small- and medium-sized countries in LatAm, a market with significant potential but underdeveloped financial resources for high-potential emerging companies. Its differentiated investment approach combines best practices from early-stage VC firms, venture-building, and startup accelerator programs into a value proposition for both promising startups and sophisticated investors with an interest in frontier markets. Carao managed one of the largest and most active angel investor networks in LatAm, the Carao Ventures Investor Club, which was comprised of 40+ members by the end of 2020, predominantly business owners, high-level corporate executives, high net-worth individuals, and family offices from Central America, Colombia, the U.S., Switzerland, and Italy. As of June 2021, Carao launched Carao Ventures Fund I, a $35 million VC vehicle focused on Latin America (the "Fund"). The Fund’s intended geographic focus consists of: (i) primarily, Central America (including Panama), North Andean region (Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador), and the Dominican Republic; (ii) secondarily, investment opportunities in Argentina, Chile, and other small- and medium-sized LatAm countries (except for Brazil); and (iii) lastly, investment opportunities in Mexico or led by founders from the Target Markets in the U.S. shall be considered as Opportunistic Investments.