Manos Accelerator, a startup accelerator program with the vision to be recognized as an international hub in Silicon Valley where Latino entrepreneurs from across the globe can come to convert their big ideas into reality, has announced the selected startups that have joined the Manos Accelerator program for the 2014 summer batch.
During this last round, a total of seven companies were selected from approximately 83 applications received over a 30-day period. After a screening by a selection committee comprised of business and technical leaders in Silicon Valley, a total of seven finalists were chosen. The 2nd class includes four international companies from Latin America and three from the United States.
“We continue to be amazed in the number of diverse applicants that we are attracting to our program,” said Edward Avila, Co-founder and CEO of Manos Accelerator. “We received a high quality of ideas from Latino entrepreneurs and we can’t wait to start working with the 2nd batch of startup companies.”
“Manos is leading wonderful work to nurture and shine a light on diverse talent,” said Mary Grove, Director of Global Entrepreneurship Outreach at Google.
“Google for Entrepreneurs shares a deep passion for supporting entrepreneurs and building a strong community around them. We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with Manos and we’re excited to meet and work with these talented teams.”
Here are the seven companies that make up the 2nd class and how they describe themselves in alphabetical order:
- Bandbazaar (San Jose, CA): Bandbaazar connects music enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels — It is a web app that’s pioneering a new way for people to convert their skills, musical instruments & gear and space into a source of income.
- CoupleCare (Chihuahua, México): CoupleCare is the first app platform guide to fertility. It allows couples to track, monitor and manage monthly menstrual cycles together as a team.
- Cuestiona.me (Palo Alto, CA): Cuestiona.me is a social platform that allows users create questions to leaders, organizations or people of influence. By supporting these questions, they become relevant, inspiring leaders to provide answers.
- Cycle Money (Guayaquil, Ecuador): Cycle Money is a platform that helps people to recycle their electronic waste. It connects directly the recyclable elements from people’s e-waste with the recycle companies.
- FashionTEQ (Aliso Viejo, CA): FashionTEQ is a fashion-forward, wearable technology company, created Zazzi, a smart and stylish jewelry collection that allows women to remain connected to their smartphone.
- My Bigame (Bogotá, Colombia): My Bigame is the unique system that offers the possibility of realizing bets in way multiplayer in different games and different platforms.
- saySquare (Tegucigalpa, Honduras): saySquare is a payments platform that allows fast social electronic transfers and lets small business accept money using mobile devices as POS.
About Manos Accelerator, LLC Manos Accelerator creates a Latino ecosystem of entrepreneurs, mentors, industry experts, leaders and investors. Through a mentorship-driven program, it provides education, resources and guidance for promising startup companies led by Latinos. For more information, please visit http://www.manosaccelerator.com.
About Google for Entrepreneurs. Google for Entrepreneurs provides financial support and the best of Google’s resources to dozens of coworking spaces and community programs across 125 countries. We also create Campuses: physical hubs where entrepreneurs can learn, connect, and build companies that will change the world. To learn more about Google for Entrepreneurs, visit google.com/entrepreneurs or follow us on G+ (+GoogleForEntrepreneurs) and Twitter (@GoogleForEntrep).