Characteristics of Unicorn Enterprises in Latin America

In recent years, a phenomenon of companies with a prominent private valuation has emerged, which, given their rarity, are called unicorns. In the case of Latin America, although there is literature related to dynamic ventures, there is little research that has developed a study of unicorns for the region. This paper seeks, through the study of recent cases of unicorns in the region, to identify common characteristics. For this purpose, the 11 unicorns in force in Latin America between 2021 and the beginning of 2022 were considered as a sample, which were classified by category, business model, valuation, among other elements. The results suggest that among the distinctive characteristics of unicorn companies in the region, in general, they are formed by entrepreneurs with previous experience in business creation, with successes and failures as examples. In addition, these entrepreneurs have undergraduate studies in the region itself, and postgraduate degrees from prestigious universities outside the region. These businesses also have business models that rely on the use of cutting-edge technologies. Thus, the most repeated categories among Latin American unicorns are software services, fintech and e-commerce. In turn, their business models push them towards global markets. This paper hopes to contribute to the understanding of unicorns and the business trends that can have a greater impact on markets, in order to serve as a guide for potential public policies that encourage these initiatives.