OZY

Believe it or not, the Silicon Valley isn’t the only force of gravity in the tech startup world that’s sucking up talent. A ways south of the Rio Grande, some of Latin America’s biggest cities are starting to buzz with the same entrepreneurial fervor that the Bay Area is famous for. According to LAVCA — a group that tracks private investment across Latin America — private equity groups and venture capital firms invested $8.9 billion in Latin America in 2013, marking a $1 billion increase since 2012.

Since the early 2000s, Brazil’s economy had been riding a growing economic wave, thanks largely to reforms led by its former Socialist president, Luiz Inácio ”Lula” da Silva. When Lula left office, Brazil’s economy was growing at a rate of 7.5 percent. Continue reading on Ozy…