Next week I'm going back to #Venezuela for the first time in over ten years. The
By Boris Spiwak · October 14, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
Next week I'm going back to #Venezuela for the first time in over ten years.
The last time I was there, I buried my grandfather - the last of our family still living in Venezuela. Three generations there, and after him, no one.
So I'm not going back to visit anyone. I'm going back to a country that's still mine in a way I can't fully explain, and that has probably changed beyond recognition. I'm excited, nostalgic, and a little nervous.
The strange part is I talk to Venezuelan business owners every week through Qash, so I know the country through two lenses that don't match: the one I said goodbye to at my grandfather's funeral, and the one I hear on our calls. On those calls, the dollar isn't a hedge, it's home - businesses price, pay and think in dollars, but still struggle to hold and move them legitimately in their own name. That's the gap Qash exists to close.
I'll be in Caracas for the Startup Venezuela Summit with Luis Eduardo Esclusa and Ami Spiwak, trying to find out which version of the country is closer to the truth.
I'm certain that Venezuela's best days are yet to come, and I'm determined to be part of rebuilding it.
If you invest in Latin American fintech, or you're just curious what's really happening there, let's have a coffee. Send me a message.
cc Esteban Torbar, Isabella Torbar, Ivan Dario Maldonado, Ferdinand Dabitz, Peter Mosebjane Lieck