The Startup Ecosystem of Ecuador

Ecuador has 2 cities in the top 1000 and is one of South America’s best countries for setting up a startup.

COUNTRY RANKING

Ecuador’s startup scene saw an increase in 2023 and jumped 6 spots from the previous year, outranking Senegal.

Population

18
Million

Regional Ranking

7th
0
In South America

Global Ranking

81st
+
6
Worldwide

Ecosystem

Startup Ecosystem Overview

town with lights far from mountain field with snow
The Ecuadorian startup ecosystem is developing but has the potential to scale and become a regional hub in the future. For Ecuador to close the gap with other countries in the region, like Brazil, Chile, and Argentina, it will need to strengthen the startup ecosystem of its capital, Quito, and make sure other cities develop seed ecosystems to support the country’s growth.
The government has introduced some initiatives to strengthen tech talent in the country. For instance, infocentros provide computer training and internet access to rural communities, increasing the domestic ICT workforce. There is still much to be done by the government in terms of investment policies and improving competition, but there are signs that the future will bring new reforms.
Ecuador has some interesting ecosystem enablers, such as the coworking spaces Latinnova and ConQuito, and the academy network of the Alliance for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (AEI). Startup Ventures is an angel investor network connecting SMEs and entrepreneurs with larger corporations, and Kruger Corporation is an example of a private sector organization supporting the ecosystem with an accelerator program called KrugerLabs. With help from such initiatives, Ecuador has achieved a major milestone with the fintech startup Kushki reaching a US$ 1 billion valuation, making it the country’s first unicorn. Also, there are some great success stories following Kushki’s achievement, such as YaEesta, one of the first ecommerce platforms in the country, and FastFarma, a medicine delivery platform that became the first Ecuadorian startup to join Y Combinator.
The nation could leverage multiple strategic advantages. Since Ecuador’s currency is US Dollars, and it shares a time zone with the US, some Americans are relocating to Ecuador and working remotely. If the public sector finds a way to motivate them to incorporate in Ecuador and hire local talent to grow their businesses, it could give Ecuador’s startup ecosystem a much needed boost.

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ECOSYSTEM

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Ecosystem

The Startup Ecosystem in Ecuador

Our startup ecosystem map for Ecuador includes a sample of 23 tech companies. We have identified as unicorns 1 startups that have passed the USD 1 billion valuations.

Global Rank

Ecuador is ranked within the top 100 startup ecosystems globally.

Top Industries

Ecuador’s startup scene is best represented in Software and Data, Fintech, and in and Education.

Top Cities for Startups in Ecuador - Ranked by StartupBlink
StartupBlink ranks the startup ecosystems of 100 countries and 1,000 cities. Download our latest Global Startup Ecosystem Report.
Rows:
2023 National Rank & Change ▲
Access subscores for 1000 cities and 100 countries
2023 National Rank & Change City
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Global Rank & ChangeTotal ScoreQuantity ScoreQuality ScoreBusiness Score
1st
0
299th
+
161
1.359
00.00
00.00
00.00
2nd
0
908th
new
0.147
00.00
00.00
00.00
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Startups

Notable Startups in Ecuador
Autority.io startup icon
Autority.io
Evaluate.com startup icon
Evaluate.com
Contifico startup icon
Contifico

Startups

Successful Software and Data startups in Ecuador
Evaluate.com startup icon
Evaluate.com
Handytec startup icon
Handytec

Startups

Startups Ranking by Industry

Software and Data icon
Software and Data
5 startups

On our map, you can explore a total of 5 startups for Software and Data.

Fintech icon
Fintech
5 startups

Ecuador has 5 startups in Fintech on our map.

Education icon
Education
3 startups

Our database contains 3 for Education in Ecuador.

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