DiiMO Strengthens Central America’s Startup Ecosystem After Winning Startup World Cup El Salvador
DiiMO won Startup World Cup El Salvador 2026 and will represent the country at the global finals in San Francisco, where startups from around the world will compete for an investment of US$1 M.
DiiMO was named the winner of Startup World Cup El Salvador 2026, earning the right to represent the country at the competition’s global finals, which will be held in San Francisco. The recognition highlights the growing visibility of El Salvador’s startup ecosystem and positions the fintech among the region’s most promising startups.
DiiMO will represent El Salvador on the global stage
The Salvadoran fintech was selected as the overall winner of the local Startup World Cup competition, held on 28 July at the Hilton San Salvador Hotel. The event brought together startups, investors, and key players in the country’s innovation ecosystem to choose the company that will compete internationally.
With this win, DiiMO will advance to the Startup World Cup global finals in San Francisco, where entrepreneurs from dozens of countries will compete for a one-million US$1 investment, one of the biggest prizes in the global startup ecosystem.
Expanding access to financing for underserved entrepreneurs
Founded by Juan David Hernández Bustamante, DiiMO has focused its work since 2021 on addressing one of Central America’s main financial challenges: limited access to formal credit for small businesses, independent workers, and people with steady incomes who remain outside the traditional banking system.
Through its mobile app, the company offers microloans and working capital advances designed specifically for these historically underserved segments, expanding access to financing beyond conventional financial institutions.
Growth backed by investors and international recognition
DiiMO’s latest achievement adds to a series of milestones that have strengthened its position in the regional fintech ecosystem.
In 2023, the company closed a Pre-Series A round of US$1.2 million, combining debt and equity, led by Endless Ventures and Aguila Investments, providing it with resources to continue expanding its financial services.
Its international recognition also began before Startup World Cup. In 2025, DiiMO was named one of the world’s 100 most outstanding startups at the Entrepreneurship World Cup, held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, demonstrating that the company had already been attracting attention from the international startup ecosystem.
Why does this achievement matter for Central America’s venture capital ecosystem?
DiiMO’s success comes at a time when Central America continues to account for a small share of Latin America’s venture capital market.
According to the Latin America VC Report 2026 by Cuantico VP, the region raised US$107 million in venture capital investment during 2025, representing just 2.6% of the US$4,126 million invested across Latin America. The same report places Central America in Tier 2 of the Venture Capital Efficiency Index (VEI), with a score of 22.4, still trailing more established ecosystems such as Chile, Uruguay, and Brazil.
In this context, startups that demonstrate traction and earn international recognition become even more important in showing the region’s investment potential. DiiMO’s qualification for the global finals is not only a milestone for the company, but also another example of Central America’s ability to build companies capable of attracting international capital.
A diverse jury selected the winning startup
The local competition was judged by a panel of representatives from different areas of the startup and investment ecosystem:
- Ileana Figueroa, CEO of Pulso Capital and iLB Metrics.
- Jose Kont, Partner at Cuantico VP and Venture Partner at Impacta VC.
- Nelson López, Founder of DeWe Partners and Head of Incubation at Funding the Commons.
- Erika Ehlerman, SNBX Ecosystem Leader at AGRISAL.
- José Roberto Rodríguez, CEO of CoreNest Accelerator.
The panel’s combined experience in venture capital, startup acceleration, corporate innovation, incubation, and market intelligence brought different perspectives to the selection process and reflected the evolution of El Salvador’s innovation ecosystem.
Greater international visibility for Salvadoran startups
For Jose Kont, DiiMO’s achievement goes beyond the company’s success and represents an opportunity for the entire region.
“A Salvadoran fintech reaching the Startup World Cup global finals and competing for a one-million US$1 check is a meaningful signal for an ecosystem that still needs more stories of traction and international visibility to attract capital to Central America’s Northern Triangle,” he said.
As DiiMO prepares to compete in San Francisco, its participation puts both the company and El Salvador’s startup ecosystem on the international stage, reinforcing Central America’s growing presence in global conversations about entrepreneurship and venture capital investment.
