LATAM Fintech | 2021 #8
Hi, there! Welcome back to another LATAM Fintech Newsletter. In this newsletter, I cover all the major news related to LATAM Fintech. Thank you for subscribing!
INTERVIEW
Check out Global Fintech Series’ interview with Michael Rangel, Co-founder, and CEO at Novo.
The post-pandemic future of small business banking isn’t just helping small businesses keep their money safe — it’s creating a solution that truly helps small businesses save money, streamline their finances, and improve cashflow.
Novo launched in 2018 to give SMBs across the US a powerfully simple digital banking platform. Novo now serves more than 70,000 small business customers across the U.S., and has processed more than $1.2 billion in transactions.
👉 Read more here.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF THE LATEST NEWS IN LATAM
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
The company dLocal, specialized in payment solutions, and which became Uruguay's first unicorn in September 2020 after reaching a valuation of more than $ 1 billion, went public on Nasdaq. Link here.
The IPO, under the DLO code, was made through an IPO (public offering for sale), whose high demand on the previous day raised the placement price from the initially planned 16-18 dollars to 21, so the company would add about 617.4 million dollars and its value would be around 6.150 million, as reported at the opening of the Nasdaq session.
"It is today: Thank you for all the support and congratulations regarding the IPO of dLocalPayments," the company posted in English on its official Twitter account at around 9.00 am (12.00 GMT), approximately an hour and a half earlier. of the official opening act.
Sebastián Kanovich, chief executive of the company founded in 2016 in Uruguay and based in five other countries, was in charge of giving the "bell" of the login to make dLocal the second company in that country to jump on the floor.
👉 Read more here.
INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ The Central Bank of Brazil (Banco Central do Brasil BCB) has been promoting discussions, internal and with its international peers, aimed at the possible development of a CBDC. Link here.
⭐️ Algorand and Bnext join forces to revolutionize the remittances market in Europe and Latam. Link here.
⭐️ The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed Latin America’s economy to the brink. And those who have been hit the hardest are small business owners and people from low-income communities. Link here.
⭐️ Last year eCommerce in Mexico took off with an unexpected growth of more than 40%. Link here.
ECUADOR
Just about every week there’s a blockbuster round coming out of South America, but in certain countries such as Ecuador, things have been more hush-hush. However, Kushki, a Quito-based fintech, is bringing attention to the region with today’s announcement of an $86 million Series B and a $600 million valuation.
“We never thought that we would return home [from the U.S.] and build a company that was more valuable in Ecuador than we had built in the U.S.,” said Aron Schwarzkopf, CEO, and co-founder of Kushki.
👉 Link here.
BRAZIL
Banco Itaú will be more active in making acquisitions and forming partnerships with smaller competitors this year. The bank is eyeing deals with companies in sectors such as payments and investments, he added, which will complement the portfolio of Brazil’s largest lender. Link here.
The new service of Latin America's largest fintech, Nubank, allows users to choose any purchase made through the institution's credit card to be paid in up to 12 installments, provided that the minimum amount corresponds to R$20 for each month. Link here.
EBANX is looking at acquisitions in Latin America as it prepares for a possible initial public offering (IPO), Bloomberg LP reported. As part of its expansion, Ebanx would create a new platform called Ebanx One that would incorporate cross-border payments and local transactions, according to Bloomberg. Link here.
Grão will offer microcredit to savers who reach their goals. The microcredit will be offered at interest rates below the market based on the customer's profile, so that they may anticipate the achievement of goals for which they save money. Link here.
StoneCo is gearing up for a big investment. The company announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to invest in Banco Inter, a digital bank also based in Brazil. Stone is to invest up to 2.5 billion reals ($467 million) in the shares newly issued by the latter company. This will give StoneCo a stake of, at most, just under 5% of its peer. Link here.
ARGENTINA
9% of the fintechs in Argentina are dedicated to the industry around bitcoin and blockchains. This is shown by a study sponsored by the Argentine Chamber of Fintech (CAF), which was recently published. Link here.
COLOMBIA
ADDI has secured $65 million in debt and equity funding and formed a strategic relationship with Banco Santander. The new $35mm Series B equity investment round was led by Union Square Ventures, with participation from 8VC Monashees’ Opportunity Fund, Citius Capital, Endeavor Catalyst, the Marathon Fund, GGV partner Hans Tung, and former Affirm COO Huey Lin. Addi also picked up $30mm in fresh debt funding from Architect Capital. Link here.
CHILE
EVO Payments, Inc., a leading global provider of payment technology integrations and acquiring solutions, announced entry into an agreement to acquire Servicios Tecnológicos Pago Fácil, a leading eCommerce payment gateway in Chile, in partnership with its joint venture with Bci, Bci Pagos. Link here.
MEXICO
GBM Grupo Bursátil Mexicano is a 35-year-old investment platform in the Mexican stock market. GBM is announcing it has received an investment of “up to” $150 million from SoftBank via the Japanese conglomerate’s Latin America Fund at a valuation of “over $1 billion.” Link here.
Mexican payments network PROSA is exploring a sale that could value it at more than $1 billion. Owned by a consortium of banks including Grupo Financiero Banorte and the local arms of HSBC and Grupo Santander, Prosa provides the infrastructure that facilitates more than half the payments in Mexico. Link here.
Clara announced that it closed a new, $30 million funding round and secured a $50 million revolving debt facility. The startup, which provides corporate cards to Mexican companies, raised funds earlier this year when it was busy launching its product. Since then, growth has proven rapid for the Mexico City-based company. Link here.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS:
Marcus Dantus from StartupMexico joins the fintech Credijusto.com with the aim of enhancing the opportunities of Mexican entrepreneurs. Through this alliance, they will offer tools that range from consulting to funding a business loan. Link here.
This ends my weekly LATAM fintech newsletter. Thank you for reading to the end! If you liked it, I invite you to like, share and/or leave a comment below.
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Regards,
Marcel van Oost
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