FINTECH IS HEATING UP
> The IFC led a R$60m Series C in GuiaBolso, with previous backers KaszeK Ventures, Ribbit Capital, and QED Investors. This is the IFC’s first investment in a Brazilian fintech startup. GuiaBolso raised US$1m in seed financing in 2013 from Valor Capital, e.Bricks and angel investors. Valor and e.Bricks returned for a US$3m Series A in 2014, led by KaszeK Ventures. In 2015, Ribbit Capital led a US$7m Series B with Omidyar Network, QED Investors, Ed Baker, head of growth for Uber; Mark Goines, and early investor in Mint.com; and Peter Kellner, co-founder of Endeavor.
> Announced this week, Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund led an US$8m investment in Konfio, a Mexican online lending platform, joined by Quona Capital, QED Investors, KaszeK Ventures, and Jaguar Ventures. Accion and Jaguar also invested in 2014. Konfio is KaszeK and QED’s first investment in Mexico. QED also has investments in fintech startups BankFacil and Nubank in Brazil.
GuiaBolso and Konfio are two breakouts among hundreds of fintech startups in the region. FintechLab counts 130 fintech startups in Brazil, and says half of them have annual revenues above R$1m. Finnovista counts 140 fintech startups in Mexico and 70 in Colombia. The opportunity is dramatic: About half the region’s population is unbanked, including 60% of Mexico and Colombia, according to the World Bank.
> Fintech was the single largest sector of venture investment in 2015 across Latin America, with US$143m invested over 21 deals (and US$80m invested in Nubank alone), as we detail in Latin America Venture Capital: Five-Year Trends, LAVCA’s report of venture investment in the region from 2011-2015.