IDB Lab opens call for STEM startups to expand their access to capital

Jun 11, 2025 News

Kaieteur News – IDB Lab, the innovation and venture capital arm of the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group), has launched a call for participants in its Women STEMpreneurs Competition to fund women-led startups in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In a press release the IDB said the thirteenth edition of the regional competition will be held through the WeXchange platform offering opportunities for women entrepreneurs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The call underscores IDB Lab’s commitment to strengthening the innovation ecosystem to maximize the talent of women entrepreneurs and accelerate the development of high-impact solutions in the region’s economies and societies.

With support from AVP Ventures, the call aims to identify women leaders of STEM-based startups in the region who are currently raising capital. The goal is to support and connect them with potential investors. The five selected startups will present at an IDB Group Innovation for Impact event to be held in El Salvador from November 30 to December 2, 2025.

The application period runs from June 9 to July 9, 2025 and is open for startups at the pre-seed to Series B stages of raising capital that have at least one woman founder or leader (at the C-suite level). This woman entrepreneur must be the one to enter the call and present the startup.

The call is open to businesses with a strong technological component or that are primarily focused on STEM related activities, including in sectors such as fintech, edtech, agtech, healthtech, biotech, e-commerce, mobility, logistics, cybersecurity, clean technologies, tourism, or SaaS solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises. Startups must operate in at least one country in Latin America and/or the Caribbean and have a business model that includes regional or international expansion.

Applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis, and the results will be announced by September 30. Selected startups will receive support to participate in the in-person event, as well as networking opportunities to connect with investors and key players in the regional ecosystem. WeXchange activities are made possible through the by support of the Women Entrepreneurship Finance Initiative (We-Fi).

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IDB, WeXchange, Woman Business, Women STEMpreneurs

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