Ten years on both sides of the table.

Over the past decade we have worked on the capital side and on the founder side. That dual perspective showed us precisely where growth stalls.

Laura Carrión Rivas and Tomás Ffrench-Davis, partners at Kavanah Ventures — Laura Carrión Rivas · Tomás Ffrench-Davis

The name

Kavanah means conscious intention.

It is a Hebrew word, and it is the principle we work by: every mandate starts with a clear intention.

We provide investment services; we do not provide capital. We prepare companies, find the right investment and structure the vehicles, programs and expansions that make it possible.

Meet the partners

Story

Two paths, one firm.

Laura came from the capital side, with a decade in funds, impact investing and vehicle structuring.

Tomás came from the founder side: fifteen years building companies, five companies founded and several markets opened in the region.

Kavanah Ventures brings those two experiences together in one firm, with offices in Mexico City, Bogotá and Santiago.

Principles

Three words that guide every mandate.

Intention

Every structure, program and recommendation starts from a clear purpose, not from market inertia.

Structure

We design vehicles, processes and programs that make investment possible and sustain it over time.

Judgment

We analyze independently so that every investment decision is well founded.

Where we see the opportunity

Four places where growth stalls.

Investment readiness

Companies ready to receive capital, with fundamentals that hold up before a committee.

Commercial strategy and closing

Real scaling: closed clients and early revenue.

Market entry

An orderly entry into Chile, Mexico and Colombia.

Relationships for raising capital

Connections with the right investors.

Mission

To close the capital, network and market gaps that hold back startups in Latin America, by building conscious investment and entrepreneurship spaces with a clear objective.

Every event, program, vehicle or expansion we design starts from a real need and is measured by its results.

Vision

Founders in Latin America who scale on concrete ground: clients, revenue, access to capital and markets.

Corporates that create innovation programs that are viable, sustainable and efficient.

Our approach

Every space we create has a clear objective.

The difference lies in the intention with which we design and run each format.

Pitch and launch events

We curate attendees and agenda so the key people are in the room and the connections happen.

Acceleration programs

Focused on what startups truly need: to sell and close deals.

Investment vehicles

Designed around the concrete match between the supply of and the demand for capital.

Soft landing

We get to know the company in depth and define a realistic growth strategy.

When we accept a mandate

Before we say yes, we review four things.

There is a real need we can address with one of our lines.
Results can be defined and measured from the proposal stage.
There is no conflict of interest that keeps us from recommending independently.
We can assign the partners to the mandate.

What we do not do

Limits we always keep.

We do not provide capital or invest in the companies we support.
We do not promise closed rounds: the decision to invest always belongs to the investor.
We do not bill by the hour: we work on deliverables and results.
We do not accept mandates we cannot execute with the partners.

Team

The partners execute every mandate.

An uncommon combination: experience in funds and investment, and in opening markets and closing clients.

CEO and co-founder · Investment & Impact Strategy

Laura Carrión Rivas

Ten years in venture capital, private equity, impact investing, fundraising and vehicle structuring in Latin America.

Degrees in business administration and design from Universidad de los Andes, with training in sustainable finance and investment banking.

Track record

Pantheon VenturesUSD 86bn AUMFund of funds
VISUM CapitalUSD 500MReal estate fund in Colombia
ALIVE VenturesUSD 50MImpact fund in Latin America
iGravityUSD 44MSwiss impact fund
Briter3 regionsResearch in Africa, Asia and Latin America

laura@kavanah.mx LinkedIn

COO and co-founder · Market entry and B2B sales

Tomás Ffrench-Davis

Fifteen years building companies in Latin America, with five companies founded. He opens markets and leaves them running.

As Managing Director of Niuro in Mexico, he took the operation from zero to USD 420,000 in ARR in five months, with clients in Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, the United States and Chile. He then led the expansion of Nexor AI in Latin America: 143 leads in Chile, Colombia and Mexico in three months.

He founded and led GoodPlayers, a corporate impact platform with more than 100 foundations in its network and 13,546 people reached. He is an official partner of Ontop in Latin America.

Track record

MIT Technology Review2024Innovators Under 35 Latin America
Babson Collaborative2022First place in the Global Student Challenge, among more than 800 entrepreneurs from 17 countries
TEDxVitacura2024Speaker: “The power of connecting with people”
Start-Up Chile2022Ignite 4 cohort
Revista Sábado, El Mercurio2023100 Young Leaders

Managing Director in Mexico
Expansion in Latin America
Founder and director · InnovABB winner 2025

Recognition

Innovators Under 35 · 2024
Speaker · 2024
Destino Impacto scholarship · Mérida, 2026

tomas@kavanah.mx LinkedIn

Offices

Mexico City, Bogotá and Santiago.

MexicoMexico CityLocal time --:--

ColombiaBogotáLocal time --:--

ChileSantiagoLocal time --:--

Visibility and network

Speakers and sources across the region.

The team takes part as speakers and sources in media, academic forums and ecosystem events.

See videos and media Follow Kavanah on LinkedIn

Mexico Tech WeekFLII MéridaStartCO MedellínInnova ColsubsidioTEDxVitacuraBloomberg LíneaWomen Economic ForumUniversidad del RosarioVirtual EducaCATAL1.5°T