By Riley Kaminer
Ecuador’s first unicorn, fintech Kushki, is bullish on South Florida. The 750 person team is growing, and it has its sights firmly set on Miami. The company’s Miami-based Chief Sales Officer, Juan Pablo Jiménez, cut his teeth at Citrix, eventually rising to the ranks of COO for Americas Sales and Services. We sat down with Jiménez to hear about what Kushki is up to in South Florida and beyond – and what we can expect to see going forward.
What problem is Kushki solving?
Kushki’s is a world-class, end-to-end payment platform helping businesses across the region to reduce cost and complexity of online payments while improving acceptance rates and reducing fraud. As part of our work, we have digitalized the process and payment of utilities and essential services across the region, in a high level of payment capabilities that you can find in very developed countries.
Tell us about the path that led you to Miami.
I left Colombia in 2000 and moved around the Americas – living in Texas, Brazil, and Mexico – and finally decided to settle down in Miami in 2012 with my family and young kids (at that time). Miami is an inspiring city with very good schools and is a melting pot of different cultures. It is a great hub to run business throughout the LatAm region, and the technology movement is rapidly growing. I really like the vibe of this city.
What does your footprint in Miami look like?
We are only a few people here in Miami, we support the concept of decentralized headquarters hiring and developing talent all over the LatAm region.
What kind of traction has Kushki had over the years?
In 2022 we became a unicorn: the first in the history founded by Ecuadorians. This is quite an achievement and is inspiring young people to dream and think that everything is possible through teamwork, innovation, and of course very hard work.
Which countries are you currently active in?
The company currently operates in Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Peru, and the United States.
What are your thoughts on Ecuador’s startup ecosystem, and Kushki’s role in it?
Latin America has become a great ecosystem of startups, and for Ecuador, having an Unicorn with a large footprint of talent in the country, is something to really feel proud of. In addition, it is an unprecedented milestone that promotes the development of local companies and inspires Ecuadorians to dream big.
What should we expect to see from Kushki in the next few months? What initiatives are you most excited about?
We continue developing our platform and strengthening our value proposition. This first half of 2023 is full of good news that will show the full potential of our offer to become a true regional infrastructure player for digital payments in LatAm. With this in mind, we are looking to accelerate digital transformation – driving consumer adoption of digital payments and helping to build a more dynamic and modern Latin America.
Learn more about Kushki by visiting their website.
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