👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Less than seven months after closing on a $57 million Series B, fast-growing fintech Jeeves has raised $180 million in a Series C round that values the company at $2.1 billion.
When it raised in September, Jeeves — which describes itself as “an all-in-one corporate card and expense management platform for global startups” — was valued at $500 million. This means it has quadrupled in value in just over six months. It’s also notable that Jeeves only publicly launched in March of 2021, and officially emerged from stealth last June with $31 million in equity financing and $100 million in debt.
👉 Check out the full article here
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📊 INFOGRAPHIC
What are the LATAM FinTechs that offer corporate credit cards?
Latam Fintech Hub has done it again with another fantastic map for the region; this time depicting FinTechs that offer corporate credit cards.
FinTechs listed on the map include delt.ai (YC W20), Tribal, Konfío, Jeeves, Credijusto, and many more.
👉 Check out the full article here
📰 ARTICLE
The growth of the crypto industry in Latin America has been extraordinary in the last three years, as revealed by the company Chainalysis in its Global Cryptocurrency Adoption Index. This has led governments to adopt different regulatory standards to try to keep this industry under the supervision and prevent its control from getting out of hand.
For this reason, the legislators of the countries where the adoption and use of digital assets have proliferated the most, have been presenting bills that are in different stages of discussion and approval. Until now, there is no common and comprehensive regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in the region, as would be desirable for regulatory bodies.
👉 Read the full Investing article here
💬 INTERVIEW
The UAE and India recently signed a comprehensive trade deal across a wide range of sectors, showcasing the importance of broadening economic partnerships in the aftermath of the pandemic. A potential deepening of trade ties with the Latin America region – one of the world’s biggest exporters of food and raw materials – will be highly beneficial to UAE’s economy as well.
In an interview with Gulf News, Hamad Buamim, President and CEO of Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry, says the roadmap to make things happen is ready.
👉 Check out the full article here
💡 INSIGHTS
The year 2021 was especially good for LATAM in terms of the number of companies, customers, and the attraction of venture capital. At the industry level, these are good times to attract capital. On that note, BNamericas latest interview with academics and authors Bernardo Bátiz-Lazo and Ignacio Gónzalez-Correa on how it is a good time to attract capital to LATAM.
According to the Inter-American Development Bank – a 2018 study – the most important sector in Latin America is payments, including international remittances, which account for 24% of fintech companies.
👉 Read the full interview here
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
☕️ REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ Latin American nocnoc raises $7M seed round to help global sellers connect with local marketplaces across LatAm. Link here.
⭐️ Global crypto exchange Binance signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to acquire Brazilian securities brokerage sim;paul investimentos. Link here
BRAZIL
Brazilian fintech Nubank said that new central bank rules for digital banks will bring lower capital requirements than originally expected next year and in 2024, with the announcement lifting its shares.
Nubank's U.S.-listed shares were up nearly 2% at $6.04 aftermarket. Despite the recent bump, however, Nubank's shares have lost nearly 37% so far this year, in line with souring investor sentiment in the broader tech market. Brazil's central bank announced tougher rules for fintechs, subjecting payment institutions to regulations based on their size and complexity, while also raising standards for required capital. Link here
ARGENTINA
The Argentinian Financial Information Unit (UFI), which is the anti-money laundering regulator in the nation, is taking crypto transactions seriously. The regulator is working to include digital assets firms and exchanges that operate on Argentinian soil as entities that will have to report to the local authority.
The regulation is expected to be ready for publication within 2022. This means soon, the cryptocurrency-based firms in the region will have to create anti-money laundering plans and report suspicious transactions to the aforementioned organization so such firms would comply with the upcoming rules. Link here
COLOMBIA
Gramercy Funds Management LLC, an emerging-markets asset manager, loaned $100 million to OmniLatam, a Bogota-based fintech that’s entering the Brazil market.
The credit line is “much more than a facility, it’s a partnership that we’re going to take across the region,” OmniLatam Chief Executive Officer Diego Caicedo said in a video interview. “This will allow us to more than double our Colombia loan book and, as we start growing in Brazil, Gramercy will probably be sitting next to us.” Link here
MEXICO
Cura Deuda ® - Reparadora de Crédito, a 100% Mexican fintech, announced a funding round of $1.3M USD led by Magma Partners and Anteris. They launched in 2011, and have been revolutionizing credit repair in the country since then.
With the $1.3 million funding round from Magma and Anteris, the fintech plans to further develop its technology and expand its services to Latin America. Link here
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