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Top 25 Startup Competitions for Early-Stage Startups in South America in 2025

Top 25 Startup Competitions for Early-Stage Startups in South America in 2025

South America's startup ecosystem is booming, making 2025 a pivotal year for entrepreneurs looking for growth, recognition, and investment. This comprehensive list features the top 25 startup competitions that can provide early-stage startups in South America with the opportunities they need to excel.
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1. South Summit Startup Competition (Brazil)

When: April 9-11, 2025
Where: Porto Alegre, Brazil
Benefits: Global visibility, networking with investors and partners, potential investment opportunities, mentoring, media coverage, and demo booth opportunities.
Application Deadline: January 23, 2025
More information about South Summit Startup Competition (Brazil)

2. Startup Grind Global Pitch Battle

When: Local Chapter Battles (Jan 13-16, 2025); Regional Semi-Finals (Jan 21, 2025); Global Final (Jan 23, 2025)
Where: Globally, with LATAM regional semi-final
Format: Local Chapter Pitch Battles, 2-minute pitches (semi-finals), 3-minute pitches with one deck slide (Final)
Prizes: Access to investors, mentorship, and global visibility
Learn more about Startup Grind Global Pitch Battle

3. WeXchange Pitch Competition

Where: Various locations in Latin America
Prizes: Week-long immersion program at Microsoft in San Francisco, Microsoft Azure credits, private office space, and technical assessments
Focus: Tech-based startups led by women
Benefits: Networking with investors, mentors, and other entrepreneurs from the region
Discover WeXchange Pitch Competition
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4. Global Startup Awards - Latin America

Timeline: Public Nominations open December 1, 2024; Regional Winners Announced September 2025
Where: Latin America
Benefits: Global visibility, access to a world-class network, and international recognition
Process: Public nominations, shortlisting, regional finalists, public voting, and jury selection with regional winners
Explore Global Startup Awards - Latin America

5. 500 Startups LATAM Accelerator

Focus: Startups in Latin America with global scaling potential
Where: Latin America
Investment: $60,000 in exchange for equity
Benefits: Access to mentors, advisors, a wide network of investors, focuses on growth hacking, product development, and fundraising
Learn more about 500 Startups LATAM Accelerator

6. Mercy Corps Ventures Anticipatory Action Accelerator

Deadline: February 14, 2025
Where: Open to organizations in various regions including Latin America
Focus: Innovations like climate data analytics, AI/ML, and crypto payment rails to improve humanitarian aid delivery
Funding: Up to $100,000 in equity-free grants
Discover Mercy Corps Ventures Anticipatory Action Accelerator

7. Global Food Tech Awards 2025

Requirements: Startups must be less than five years old and employ no more than 20 people
Where: Open to startups headquartered in North or South America
Focus: Innovations across the food and beverage supply chain
Format: Three-page pitch deck and a three-minute video submission
More about Global Food Tech Awards 2025

8. Bayer Foundation Women Entrepreneurs Award

Where: Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East
Focus: Startups focused on health and food security
Target: 15 women entrepreneurs will be selected
Benefits: Resources, support, and visibility for scaling the startup
Learn about Bayer Foundation Women Entrepreneurs Award

9. SXSW EDU Launch Startup Competition

When: March 2025
Where: Austin, Texas
Eligibility: Early-stage education startups with a sustainable business model, user traction, engagement, and adoption metrics
Awards: Launch Award (grand prize), Impact Award, Community Choice Award
Application Deadline: October 25, 2024
Discover SXSW EDU Launch Startup Competition

10. Google for Startups Accelerator: Latin America

Focus: Startups using Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence to solve the region's most pressing challenges
Where: Latin America
Benefits: Access to Google’s resources, mentorship, product credits, and support
Duration: 3-month program
Google for Startups Accelerator: Latin America
Details on the remaining 15 competitions will be routinely updated as more information becomes available.
This list provides a pivotal resource for early-stage startups in South America, highlighting top opportunities for visibility, funding, mentorship, and growth in 2025. Be sure to stay updated with the respective competition websites for any changes to dates, deadlines, and application requirements.
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FAQ

Q: What is the top startup competition in Brazil for 2025?
A: South Summit Startup Competition in Porto Alegre, Brazil, showcases innovative startups to investors and partners. Learn more about South Summit Brazil.
Q: Which competition is specifically for women entrepreneurs in South America?
A: WeXchange Pitch Competition focuses on tech-based startups led by women and offers opportunities to meet investors and mentors. Discover WeXchange.
Q: What competition provides initial investment and accelerator support in Latin America?
A: 500 Startups LATAM Accelerator offers a 16-week program, mentorship, and initial investment for high-potential startups. Read more about the 500 Startups LATAM Accelerator.
Q: What is a notable competition within the Latin American food tech sector?
A: Global Food Tech Awards 2025 focuses on innovative food tech startups and provides a platform to showcase their innovations. Learn more about the Global Food Tech Awards.
Q: Which award targets women entrepreneurs with innovations in health and food security?
A: Bayer Foundation Women Entrepreneurs Award seeks women entrepreneurs with impactful solutions in health and food security. Discover Bayer Foundation Women Entrepreneurs Award.
Q: Which global competition has a significant presence in South America?
A: Startup Grind Global Pitch Battle features local chapter pitch battles leading to regional semi-finals with a LATAM regional focus. Learn more about Startup Grind Global Pitch Battle.
Q: What is a unique competition focusing on anticipatory action solutions in the humanitarian sector?
A: Mercy Corps Ventures Anticipatory Action Accelerator supports tech innovations for anticipatory humanitarian action with equity-free grants. Discover Mercy Corps Ventures.
Q: Which competition celebrates and fosters growth within the Latin American startup ecosystem?
A: Global Startup Awards - Latin America recognizes startups, founders, and innovators across the region with a multi-phase selection process. Learn more about Global Startup Awards.
Q: Which competition offers a comprehensive support program for early-stage education startups?
A: SXSW EDU Launch Startup Competition in Austin, Texas, provides awards and resources for sustainable and impactful education startups. Read more about SXSW EDU Launch.
Q: Which competition is part of a global event series with a strong focus on Latin America?
A: South Summit in Brazil and Madrid connects startups with investors and includes impactful networking opportunities. Learn more about South Summit.

About the Author

Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond and launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks.
2025-06-09 08:41 Top 25