Business Latin America

Latin America Business: SoftBank is putting its stamp on  LatAm's venture capital scene SoftBank , whose $5 billion (£3.91 billion) Latin America fund has showered regional startups with cash, is also courting local venture capital funds, an unusual move for the Japanese investor that has jolted the region’s tech scene. SoftBank usually puts money directly into startup companies but in Latin America has targeted venture capital funds in a departure from the Japanese conglomerate’s global approach. Venture capital is still a relatively young business in Latin America and SoftBank’s investments will help to foster innovation, particularly for late-stage tech businesses, which are SoftBank’s main target. But industry sources said Softbank’s venture capital cash comes with strings attached that not all potential beneficiaries are happy about. Sources familiar with the matter said one of SoftBank’s requests was for a right of first refusal if one of the compani...