Both Lara Lemann and Monica Saggioro have long been interested in the prospect of helping to spur more business innovation, and economic development, in their native Brazil as well as in other parts of Latin America. They both felt that a lack of early stage funding was severely limiting opportunities for entrepreneurs, particularly female founders, on the continent. In 2018, they decided to tackle the challenge head-on by creating their own venture capital fund focused on early stage start-ups, MAYA Capital. On this episode, Lara and Monica talk about the hands-on approach they take with their portfolio companies, what they look for when making investment decisions, the issues facing the broader Latin American start-up ecosystem, diversity in the start-up world, and more.