Rafa is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at COMETA. Founded in 2012, COMETA is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage software companies serving Spanish-speaking markets globally. Some investments include: +1BN companies like Bitso and Cabify; local payment and lending platforms like R2 and Kueski; regional fintech players like Simetrik and Prometeo; and global Hispanic players like Territorium and WelcomeTech.

Rafa also served as Board Member of AMEXCAP (the Mexican Private Equity and Venture Capital Association) where he was the Chairman of the Venture Capital Committee. He teaches a venture capital course for undergraduate students at ITAM. Rafa was Co-Founder and CEO of Lifedots, a New York-based software company. Before Cometa and Lifedots, Rafael was an investment-banking associate in the M&A Group at JPMorgan in their London office, an associate attorney at the New York law firm of Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP, and a consultant in international trade at SAI, a consultancy in Mexico City.

Carlos Ramos de la Vega is the Managing Director of Global Strategy at GPCA. In this role, he coordinates the organization’s relationships with venture and technology investors, publishes the Global Tech Brief, GPCA’s flagship newsletter on cross-border tech investment in global markets, and oversees the organization’s tech-related products and initiatives. He is a regular speaker at meetings on tech investment in global markets and is frequently cited in the financial press including the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and Bloomberg.

Carlos also serves as the Director of Venture Capital at the Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America (LAVCA), GPCA’s sister organization, since 2020, where he leads the organization’s relationships with venture investors, and oversees the production of Latin America-specific VC/Tech content, including the LatAm Venture Bulletin.

Prior to joining GPCA, Carlos was a member of the Mergers & Acquisition Group in UBS based in New York, where he was responsible for the analysis and due diligence of cross-border transactions between the United States, the United Kingdom, India and South Korea.

He received his B.S. in Economics with honors distinction and Minors in Industrial Engineering and Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley.

Monica Saggioro is a Co-Founder of MAYA Capital, and an investor with an operational background across Latin America and the U.S., having worked in companies such as Goldman Sachs and RBI. She graduated from Harvard Business School and is a partner at MAYA Capital, an Early-Stage fund focused on Brazil and Latin America.

Nicolas Toro is the Head of Latam Markets at SVB’s Global Gateway, which supports Latam’s innovation economy as its main US banking partner. Previously he was the Manager of Entrepreneurship and Access to Capital at Endeavor Colombia and Endeavor Catalyst. Nicolas holds a Masters from Columbia University and resides in Miami.

Andy Tsao is a Managing Director and Head of SVB’s Global Gateway, which assists innovation companies in the emerging markets with their US and international market expansion. He brings more than 20 years of experience banking dynamic companies in technology industries worldwide.

In his roles, Andy manages SVB’s relationships with venture capital and private equity firms outside the U.S., helps emerging market technology companies as they seek U.S. market entry, and U.S. companies as they seek to expand abroad. In both capacities, Tsao provides these firms with strategic advice and banking services, including debt financing, based on a deep understanding of their needs.

Previously, Andy led and helped found SVB’s U.K.-based operation, SVB Financial Group UK Ltd, which was established in 2004, Andy is on the boards of TiE Silicon Valley, Asia America MultiTechnology Association Silicon Valley, Asia Society of Northern California, and BayBrazil. Tsao earned a bachelor’s degree from Colgate University and an MBA from Boston University.