REPORT
The business-to-business (B2B) market remains one of the last major global opportunities for payment digitization.
Not only is the market still plagued by widespread manual processes and inefficient payment methods, but it is also a massive market estimated at nearly $29 trillion in the U.S. alone.
👉 Download the full (380+ page!) report here.
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Brazilian Fintech Marvin lands Series-A of $15 million led by American early venture capital fund Canaan, which has more than 70 IPOs and 140 plus M&A exists on its track record. The deal was joined by Investment funds Canary and Mauá Capital.
👉 Read the full article here.
😎 SPONSORED CONTENT
Contis helps organizations unleash their true potential with award-winning, cloud-based Banking-as-a-Service solutions. With Contis you can put next-generation cards, accounts, and apps in your customer’s hands.
📊 INFOGRAPHIC
Here’s a tale of two government-led FinTech platforms;
The goal of both are similar — to facilitate digital payments amongst a largely unbanked population.
👉Read the full article here.
📰 ARTICLE
While the use of digital money is experiencing a boom in Latin America, the massification of digital payments requires the breaking down of barriers created by the intensive use of cash in certain areas.
The fintech upgraded its mobile point-of-sale terminals with NFC technology to allow shopkeepers in around 1,000 small stores to pop up MI Cards, even if the customer's cell phone doesn't have contactless technology.
👉Read the full iupana article written by Antony Pinedo and Eyanir Chinea here
📰 ARTICLE
Inter (BIDI11) has just reached the 20 million client mark, a few weeks before migrating its shares to the US technology exchange Nasdaq. The expectation is to maintain the pace of expansion recorded in 2021, opening another 4 million accounts by the end of the year.
👉Read the full Latam Fintech article here
💬 INTERVIEW
The drums of an economic recession are echoing in Latin America as the slowdown is starting to affect the region's startups, which have resorted to a wave of layoffs to refocus their businesses.
David Vélez, CEO and co-founder of Nubank, spoke exclusively to Bloomberg Línea about the results of the company that has a presence in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, and his projections for the company this year.
👉Read the full Bloomberg Linea article here
💡INSIGHTS
Nubank is one of the most successful fintechs in Latin America, it’s grown from humble origins to employ over 8,000 people.
At the micro-level, each of these employees plays a key role in ensuring the continued success of the company.
At the macro level, senior executives strategize and decide how they will develop the workforce.
👉 Read the full Osterus article by Julian Herzog here.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
☕️ REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️Top Latin American crypto exchange Bitso lays off 80 employees. Link here.
⭐️ Cicada raised $3.6 million in a Seed round. Link here.
⭐️Brazil's Vtex alone has cut nearly 200 employees, that number is equivalent to 13% of the team, according to a person familiar with the company. Link here.
⭐️ The number of transactions using Chivo Wallet has fallen by 75% since its peak when authorities granted a $30 subsidy to users to incentivize the download of the technology. Link here.
⭐️The Chinese crypto exchange Huobi announced that it had purchased a Latin American cryptocurrency exchange, Bitex. Link here.
BRAZIL
Ânima Educação has launched a Corporate Venture Capital fund to invest in startups. Called Ânima Ventures, the new fund comes to the market with BRL 150 million and plans to invest in strategic tech companies over the next 10 years. The idea is to invest not only in edtechs that run complementary to Ânima’s core business but also in startups that develop transversal solutions. Link here.
Vtex alone has cut nearly 200 employees, that number is equivalent to 13% of the team, according to a person familiar with the company. Link here.
a55, a Brazilian fintech that offers revenue-based loans to startups and other companies in the so-called “new economy,” opened an office in Mexico, consolidating its presence in the country. Link here.
MEXICO
Bitso laid off 80 employees. Bitso, which had more than 700 employees before the layoffs, still lists more than 60 open positions on its jobs page. Link here.
Cicada raised $3.6 million in a Seed round led by Kaszek, with participation from Geometry Ventures, BCP Securities, and Mexican financial industry angels. Link here.
EL SALVADOR
The number of transactions using Chivo Wallet has fallen by 75% since its peak when authorities granted a $30 subsidy to users to incentivize the download of the technology. The wallet reached peaks of 20,000 transactions a day or more, but now users are making an average of 5,000. Link here.
BOLIVIA
Koban raises $2.3M from global funds such as Precursor Ventures and FJLabs. This funding will allow the startup to accelerate key hires, increase tech stack and product development and expedite its marketing and launch strategy in its original market. Link here.
If you are a fintech startup and have over 100 questions send me an email, maybe I can answer a few.