ECUADOR

Patricio Ortiz, 67, heads GO Corp, a Cuenca-based family business that began as a grocery store in 1953. Named for his father, Gerardo Ortiz, the holding company now comprises various business units ranging from liquor to plastics to motorcycles. Altogether, the enterprise generates nearly $1 billion in annual sales and employs some 10,000 people.

BULGARIA

Forbes Bulgaria calls Rossen Ivanov (left) an "investor at the top." He and three partners cofounded BlackPeak Capital, named for a mountain summit near the city of Sofia, in 2014. It now has $164 million in assets under management and had a 25% annual return last year thanks to bets on global, export-focused companies in southeast Europe. Among its portfolio companies: Slovenian deferred-payments outfit LeanPay and Bulgarian courier euShipments, which delivers e-commerce orders to 27 countries.

GEORGIA

Elven Technologies, a Sacramento, California-based startup that launched in Tbilisi in 2019, produces fire-resistant battery storage compartments for electric-car makers such as Tesla and Lucid. The enclosures surround the vehicles' lithium ion batteries, which have a tendency to spontaneously ignite at extremely hot temperatures that are difficult for firefighters to suppress. "Our goal isn't to solve the problem of battery ignition-that's for other companies to tackle. We're creating packaging that protects lives and property if a battery does catch fire," explains Elven's CEO, Farid Ismayilzada.

HUNGARY