The two Uruguayan companies that made it into the top 50 of the Financial Times' list of the best companies in the US and Canada

The top 50 of the Financial Times ranking of the fastest-growing companies in the Americas is dominated by companies mainly from the United States and Canada. But two Uruguayan companies slipped into the top 50: e-commerce company Shapermint (Trafilea Group) in 44th place and technology company Light-it in 48th place.

According to Financial Times, Trafilea grew by 1,322.6% and its compound annual growth rate (which measures the rate of return on an investment) is 142.3%. The firm's revenue in 2019 was US$ 98 million, when in 2016 it had been US$ 6.9 million.

Trafilea was founded in 2014 and in 2019 had 175 employees, and is not publicly traded, notes the English daily. In August, it was chosen by Forbes as one of the 25 best companies to telecommute. Italian entrepreneur Massimiliano Tirocchi - who more than 10 years ago decided to come to live in Uruguay - was the founder of the company, which at first was dedicated to selling products from other companies, but later founded its own brands.

For its part, the technology company Light-it grew by 1,246.2% and its compound annual expansion rate is 137.9%. Revenue in 2019 was US$ 1.8 million, when in 2016 (the year it was founded) it had been US$ 130 thousand. In 2019 it had 13 employees, according to Financial Times data.

Light-it is a software developer company and they focus on mobile application, according to their LinkedIn description.

Among the 500 companies that make up the ranking, there are five Uruguayan companies. In 66th place is the technology company Capicua; in 392nd place, Moove it; and in 475th place, UruIT.

This second list of the Financial Times shows a snapshot of the "strength" of the companies when the pandemic unleashed by the coronavirus began and points out those that "probably" have the capacity of a quick recovery to get out of the crisis.

The differences between countries in terms of economic recovery and the progress of vaccination against the coronavirus "threatens" the performance of businesses in the coming months, the newspaper assures. In the USA, for example, one third of the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine against covid-19, while Brazil has a high mortality rate and less than 10% of the population has received at least one dose.

This ranking is not a reflection of the size of each country's economy, but it does show the strength of its "entrepreneurial ecosystem," says the Financial Times note.

Source: El Observador.