IFSO LAC

What IFSO LAC does

IFSO LAC is the Latin American and Caribbean regional chapter of the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO). Formally constituted under a statute signed on 7 October 2019 and headquartered in Guatemala City, Guatemala, it is a non-profit professional society that federates 18 national member societies spanning Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Caribbean nations. Its core constituency is bariatric and metabolic surgeons and integrated health professionals, with stated inclusion of endocrinologists and patient-association perspectives.

Its product surface is educational and credentialing in nature and includes a regional magazine, a 3-month fellowship program, webinars, a journal club, biennial congresses, clinical practice guidelines, the WMA Accreditation Platform, and diploma programs spanning nutrition and psychology. The underlying "technology" is largely organizational (standards, accreditation workflows, content publishing and event management) rather than software-engineering in character.

Revenue is generated through three streams: membership fees set on a sliding scale by country tier; congress revenue under a 30/30/40 split between host-country society, IFSO LAC, and parent IFSO; and corporate sponsorships from industry. The society maintains alignment relationships with PAHO, WHO, IASO, FLASO, and IFSO to support public-health positioning and guideline dissemination. Governance is led by a rotating Executive Council, with Caetano Marchesini serving as President, Tatiana Velarde as Vice President, and Luiz Vicente Berti as Executive Director for the 2024-2026 term.

Name

IFSO LAC

Legal name

International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders - Latin American and Caribbean Chapter (IFSO LAC)

Website

https://ifsolac.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

IFSO LAC is the Latin American and Caribbean regional chapter of the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders, serving bariatric surgeons and integrated health professionals across 18 national member societies through education, accreditation, congresses, and fellowship programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Medical Society Services

akta.pro primary industry

Multilateral Global Health Agencies (UN/IFIs) (HLAJAKAA)

Keywords

• Bariatric surgery education
• Metabolic disorder treatment
• Professional medical society
• Surgical fellowship training
• Medical accreditation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Guatemala City

HQ country

Guatemala

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership fees collected from member nations based on sliding scale: 1-50 members, 51-100 members, 101-500 members, and 501+ members per country.
2. Congress Revenue: Revenue from biennial Latin American Congress events. Profit distribution: 30% for host country organizing committee, 30% for IFSO LAC chapter, 40% for IFSO international.
3. Corporate Sponsorships: Alliances with companies and suppliers providing supplies for obesity care, focusing on safety and efficacy of bariatric and metabolic surgery.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

IFSO LAC is the Latin American and Caribbean regional chapter of the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders, coordinating 18 national bariatric and metabolic surgery societies. It delivers continuing medical education, clinical practice guidelines, fellowship training, biennial congresses, scientific publications, and online professional accreditation for surgeons and integrated health professionals. The organization operates as a non-profit professional federation funded by membership fees, congress revenue, and corporate sponsorships.

Product overview

IFSO LAC (International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders - Latin American and Caribbean Chapter) is a professional medical organization, not a technology company. The organization provides a portfolio of educational and professional development products and services for bariatric and metabolic surgery professionals. The core offerings include the IFSO LAC Magazine (official scientific publication), Fellowship Program (one-year training), Webinars, Journal Club, biennial Congresses, Clinical Practice Guidelines, and the World Medical Accreditation (WMA) Platform for professional certification. Additional educational programs include diploma courses in bariatric psychology and nutrition.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• IFSO LAC Magazine (Latin American Journal of Bariatric & Metabolic Surgery and Related Sciences) Official scientific publication of IFSO LAC member countries featuring research articles on bariatric and metabolic surgery, targeted at surgeons, integrated health professionals, and researchers in Latin America and the Caribbean.
• IFSO LAC Fellowship Program One-year full-time clinical training program in metabolic surgery for general surgeons under 40 years old from Latin America or Spain, delivered at IFSO LAC-accredited training centers across the region.
• IFSO LAC Webinars Continuing medical education webinar series covering topics in bariatric and metabolic surgery, presented by international experts and accessible to IFSO LAC members across the region.
• IFSO LAC Journal Club Virtual educational platform featuring recorded discussions and reviews of recent scientific literature in bariatric surgery, designed for IFSO LAC member professionals.
• IFSO LAC Congresses Biennial regional congresses (every two years) and intermediate events bringing together bariatric surgeons and integrated health professionals from Latin America and the Caribbean for scientific sessions, workshops, and networking.
• Clinical Practice Guidelines Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for the management of obesity in adults, developed by IFSO LAC member societies for use by clinicians across the region.
• World Medical Accreditation (WMA) Platform Online accreditation platform providing professional certification and credentialing services for surgeons, hospitals, and integrated health professionals in bariatric and metabolic surgery practice.
• Diplomado en Psicología Bariátrica y Alimentación Diploma program in bariatric psychology and nutrition providing specialized training for healthcare professionals involved in interdisciplinary obesity care.
• Diplomado Internacional en Nutrición Bariátrica y Metabólica International diploma program in bariatric and metabolic nutrition providing specialized training for healthcare professionals in obesity and metabolic disease management.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• PAHO (Pan American Health Organization)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Latin American Health Departments and Ministries and multinational organizations including PAHO in activities relating to obesity education, prevention and treatment.
• WHO (World Health Organization)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with multinational organizations such as WHO in activities related to education, prevention and treatment of obesity across Latin American countries.
• IASO (International Association for Studies of Obesity)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with other institutions dedicated to the study of obesity, including IASO, for knowledge exchange and joint initiatives.
• FLASO (Federation of Latin American Societies of Obesity)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with FLASO and others dedicated to the study of obesity for regional coordination and knowledge sharing.
• IFSO (International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFSO LAC is an essential part of IFSO and follows its official guidelines and statements. IFSO is composed of 72 National Societies. IFSO LAC maintains its own governing structure while remaining aligned with IFSO standards.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• SECO (Sociedad Española de Cirugía de la Obesidad): Spanish society of bariatric surgery and a natural peer for IFSO LAC given shared Spanish-language clinical community and Iberian–LAC training flows. SECO runs congresses, accreditation and fellowship programs analogous to IFSO LAC's portfolio.
• OSSANZ (Obesity Surgery Society of Australia and New Zealand): Bariatric surgery society for Australia and New Zealand running conferences, training standards and credentialing. OSSANZ is a regional peer with a similar national-society-federated operating model outside the LAC geography.
• BOMSS (British Obesity & Metabolic Surgery Society): UK national society for bariatric and metabolic surgery professionals, running accreditation, training and annual meetings. BOMSS is a regional functional analogue to IFSO LAC's national-society-federated model, just serving the UK rather than LAC.

Direct peers

• CMCOEM (Colegio Mexicano de Cirugía para la Obesidad y Enfermedades Metabólicas): Mexican college of bariatric and metabolic surgery, a member national society of IFSO LAC and a major source of regional surgical volume. CMCOEM offers comparable congress, training and certification services within Mexico.
• IASO (International Association for Studies of Obesity): International scientific body dedicated to obesity research, listed as an IFSO LAC partner. IASO operates overlapping knowledge-exchange, guideline and congress activities in the same obesity-care ecosystem across multiple geographies.
• FLASO (Federation of Latin American Societies of Obesity): Latin American federation of obesity-focused societies and a documented strategic partner of IFSO LAC. FLASO overlaps on obesity education, prevention and treatment across the same LAC geography and shares the multi-country federation structure.
• IFSO European Chapter: European regional chapter of IFSO, structurally identical to IFSO LAC in mandate (regional standards, congresses, education) and operating in Europe rather than Latin America. It is the closest sister-chapter peer.
• ASMBS (American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery): Largest national professional society for bariatric surgeons in the US, running congresses, fellowship accreditation, clinical guidelines and CME programs. ASMBS is the most direct functional analogue to IFSO LAC's role, just at the national (US) rather than regional (LAC) level.
• SBCBM (Sociedade Brasileira de Cirurgia Bariátrica e Metabólica): Brazilian national society of bariatric and metabolic surgery and one of IFSO LAC's largest member societies. SBCBM is the dominant single-country obesity-surgery body in the LAC region and a key counterpart in IFSO LAC's federation.

Broad incumbents

• IFSO (International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders): Global parent federation of IFSO LAC, composed of 72 national societies worldwide. IFSO sets worldwide guidelines and standards for bariatric and metabolic surgery that IFSO LAC adopts regionally, making it the closest comparable in mission, structure and governance.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IFSOLAC
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ifsolac7921
• Facebookfacebook.com/LACIFSO
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ifso-lac
• Instagraminstagram.com/ifsolac

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about IFSO LAC