IDB Lab, the innovation and venture arm of the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group), has announced the five women-led businesses selected as winners of the 2026 WeXchange Women STEMpreneurs competition. WeXchange is a platform that connects women entrepreneurs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) across Latin America and the Caribbean with investors and growth opportunities. 

The 2026 edition received more than 350 applications from 35 countries, featuring solutions that promote economic or social development through edtech, healthtech, fintech, software as a service (SaaS), biotech, climatetech, agtech, and e-commerce, among other sectors. Colombia-based venture firm EWA Capital led the selection process, which involved more than 80 judges from over 60 organisations, including 50 investment funds from across Latin America and the Caribbean. 

The selected women-led startups are currently raising capital or planning to do so in the coming months. Their solutions will be showcased to venture capital investors and other innovation ecosystem stakeholders from Latin America and the Caribbean during WeXchange Demo Day 2026, which will take place on October 7 in Quito, Ecuador, as part of GET Forum. 

The selected startups are:

Kresko RNAtech (Argentina): A biotechnology company developing a new generation of functional ingredients based on bioactive ribonucleic acid (RNA). The company combines artificial intelligence tools, a proprietary stabilisation method, and biological validation to identify and develop compounds found in foods and plants with applications in health, nutrition, and beauty. 

GOW Credit (Mexico): A technology company developing AI-powered infrastructure to finance small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Latin America. Its technology enables financial institutions to identify creditworthy SMEs that are often excluded from traditional approval processes, creating new financing opportunities aligned with their risk policies. 

Ciudata (Bolivia): A business intelligence platform that supports decision-making for companies and public-sector entities. Using vehicles equipped with cameras and computer vision technology, the company collects territorial information and transforms it into data on commercial establishments and economic activity. 

Pilou (Mexico): A wealth management platform that enables individuals and businesses across Latin America to invest in the United States and Mexico. It currently serves more than 1,500 clients in 17 countries. 

Salva Health (Colombia): A technology company that developed Julieta, a portable, fast, and noninvasive medical device that facilitates access to breast cancer screening. The solution aims to expand access to early detection tools, particularly in communities with limited access to these services. 

In addition to presenting their solutions during WeXchange Demo Day, the winning entrepreneurs will participate in networking activities with investors and other stakeholders in the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem during GET Forum, expanding their opportunities to connect with networks across Latin America and the Caribbean.

WeXchange’s activities are made possible by the support of the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi).