69% of Latin American ventures are based on the Blockchain of Ethereum.
Endeavor, an organization dedicated to advising and accelerating entrepreneurship, made a study on the behavior and characteristics of Blockchain companies in Latin America, entitled "Insight: Blockchain, The promise of a revolution?". The research, carried out with the support of Kio Networks, the exchange Bitso and the US embassy in Mexico, seeks, in the words of director Vicent Speranza, "to capture an overview of what Blockchain is and show a mapping of entrepreneurship in this sector, as well as its diverse applications. At the same time, through a series of interviews with key players in this industry, we expose the capacity for revolution and its promising future. "
Explains the report that the methodology of work began with the identification of a hundred enterprises based on the Blockchain technology. Of these, surveys and in-depth interviews were carried out at 65 enterprises: 26 from Mexico, 13 from Argentina, 10 from Brazil, eight from Chile, three from Colombia, two from Peru, one from Ecuador, one from Puerto Rico and one from Venezuela (in the image are their names).
Among the results of the survey is revealed: "One of the main findings after the analysis we make of this sector is that it is in the development stage, in which innovation and disruption are characteristic of companies. These are businesses with 1-3 years of age, between 6-10 jobs and with projected sales for 2018 under US $ 500,000. The sectors in which these ventures are concentrated are mainly Financial Services and Enterprise Software & Services ".
Likewise of the 65 Latin American companies, 46% managed to raise capital. Of these, 27% did so through an ICO equivalent to more than 100 million US dollars, followed by angel investors and seed capital with 23%, then friends and family with 20%, while 26% did so through Institutional funds.
It is striking that 69% of these ventures are based on the Ethereum Blockchain. The report says:
32% of the companies mentioned using a Blockchain platform based on their own development; while 68% use Blockchain from their own development based on third-party products, of which 69% use Ethereum and 23% Bitcoin. Among other platforms mentioned are Hyperledger, Litecoin and RSK, with 12% each. "
One of the most relevant results of the survey is the economic growth reported by these companies. The document highlights:
The reported sales of companies have a positive trend. In 2017, the average Blockchain company in Latin America sold $ 212,000; in 2018 it is expected to have a growth of 90% reaching 404,000 dollars, and by 2019 this figure will increase to 1,250,000 dollars, 4,900% more than in 2017. Despite the size of the companies, their expected percentage growth in generation of income is significant, which shows a sector in clear growth from the perspective of entrepreneurs ".
Likewise, 68% of companies said that Blockchain is important for their company in 76-100%, while 16% of companies said that technology was important in 51-75%. This shows a significant percentage of entrepreneurs who are developing, experimenting and generating pilots through the Blockchain technology.
The report gives an account of the situation of regulation in the region, as well as the development of ICO. It also lists the various areas for which Blockchain is used in the continent, including health, education, commerce, tenders, government and finance. Among the conclusions highlights:
While it is true that only time will allow to know the true scope of Blockchain, it is also true that, for there to be a healthy growth of the ecosystem, it is necessary to take precautionary measures, and that includes not promising more than the bill. Blockchain is a great opportunity for entrepreneurs and investors to change the way they do business, but it is only a model and it is not and will not be the last one we will try. "