Creative Economy | February 12, 2019

Acumen’s Latin America fund backs Peruvian skills startup Crehana

Jessica Pothering
ImpactAlpha Editor

Jessica Pothering

ImpactAlpha, February 11 – Acumen-backed Acumen Latam Capital Partners (ALCP) has invested in Lima-based Crehana, a startup that offers low-cost online training in the creative, design and digital industries. The investment firm led Crehana’s $4.5 million Series A round, which was also backed by Dila Capital, Mountain Nazca Mexico, and existing investors Rethink Education and Howzat Partners.

Two-thirds of Latin America’s young people don’t advance into higher education. Crehana is trying to combat high youth unemployment rates by making professional and technical skills more affordable and accessible. It offers more than 500 online courses in Spanish on topics like graphic design, illustration, digital marketing and photography, and certifications on Photoshop, WordPress, and audio and video production. Prices start at about $14.

Since launching in 2015, Crehana has trained 650,000 students in 20 Latin American countries.

Crehana is ALCP’s second investment. The investment firm, which was launched by Acumen in 2016, previously invested in Phoenix Foods, an agri-processing company also based in Peru.