> #UNICORN Impact investment fund LGT Lightstone led a US$255m Series E in Brazilian fintech Creditas, with participation from Tarsadia Capital, e.ventures, Wellington Management, and Advent International affiliate Sunley House Capital, and follow-on from SoftBank’s Vision and Latin America Funds, KaszeK Ventures, Vostok Emerging Finance, and Amadeus Capital Partners. The round values the company at a reported US$1.75b, making it Latin America’s latest unicorn.
- SoftBank led a US$231m investment in Creditas in 2019 and Vostok Emerging Finance led the company’s US$55m Series C in 2018.
- Repoint eventures participated in the company’s US$3m seed round in 2015. Partner Manoel Lemos: “As early investors in Creditas, we are very happy with the new round that puts them in the unicorn group. More importantly, it reinforces the strength and potential of Latin America's entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem. With their tanks refilled, Creditas is ready to achieve higher heights in its vision to transform its users' financial lives. It's been great to support Sergio [Furio] and the team in this journey and I'm sure he's only starting.”
- View LAVCA's Unicorn Leaderboard for an updated list of known LatAm tech unicorns.
> #CRYPTO KaszeK Ventures and QED Investors led a US$62m Series B in Bitso, a Mexican crypto exchange, with follow-on from Coinbase Ventures and Pantera Capital. Ripple made an undisclosed investment in Bitso in 2019. Cometa (formerly Variv Capital), Jump Capital, Monex Group, and Xochi Ventures invested previously.
- This is the largest known blockchain-related VC investment in Latin America, according to LAVCA Data.
- Bitso announced its expansion to Argentina in February of this year.
- CEO Daniel Vogel on regional asset managers adopting crypto: “Their clients are demanding exposure to this asset class and we've reached the point where Bitcoin is impossible to ignore. As the only player in the region with a crypto custody license, we're here to help all the asset managers help their clients allocate crypto in their portfolio.”
- Rafael de Haro of Cometa: “As one of the first investors in Bitso, Cometa trusted that Ben, Daniel, and Pablo would be key players in the development of the cryptocurrency ecosystem in Mexico. The current funding round adds further confidence in Bitso’s evolution; it is a sign of the optimism from both top tier regional and international investors in the adoption of these technologies. At Cometa, we are convinced that these milestones reached by Bitso are paving the way for a profound change that will revolutionize the region’s financial system.”
> #IMPACT #DEBT IDB Invest and Blue Like an Orange invested US$50m in mezzanine financing in Selina, a Panamanian travel hospitality network with community vacation properties across Central America. IDB Invest will contribute US$35m and Blue Like an Orange the remaining US$15m.
- Colony Capital led a US$95m round in 2018.
- American multinational Access Industries led a US$100m investment in Selina in 2019 at a reported post-money valuation of US$850m.
- Blue Like an Orange reached a final close for its US$200m Latin America fund in June 2020.
> Temasek invested US$20m in Conductor, a Brazilian payments processor and card issuance provider for fintechs, bringing the company’s latest round of funding to US$170m after Viking Global Investors led a US$150m round in October 2020.
- #READ LAVCA’s interview with Chief Strategy Officer Marcelo Jacques.
> Blockchange Ventures and UK-based VC Pomp led a US$5.25m round in Valiu, a Colombian fintech focused on remittances and dollar-based accounts for international transfers in Colombia and Venezuela, with participation from Castle Island, Y Combinator, IDEO Colab, and Mercy Corps.
> Israel-based VC Hetz Ventures led a US$3.55m round in Mozper, a Mexico-based financial education platform for children, with participation from F-Prime Capital, Foundation Capital, and Secocha Ventures, and follow-on from DUX Capital and John Farrell.
- DUX Capital led a US$770k round in April 2020.
- Mozper was part of YC’s S20 batch.
- CEO Gabriel Roizner: “The move from cash to online not only in adults' purchases but also in children's spending habits, has created a demand for more tailored mobile-financial products. Financial education is even more relevant and urgent than before, not only because people need to be smarter about how to use online banking responsibly, but also because this is a time when people's finances are being challenged by unforeseen events.”
> #INSURTECH #HEALTHTECH Mountain Nazca and Spain-based VC Alma Mundi Ventures led a US$3m round in Asistensi, a Spanish healthtech providing insurance and telemedicine services to families of migrant workers staying in their home countries, to accelerate its expansion through Latin America.
> Jaguar Ventures, Investo, and Liquid2 Ventures invested US$2.3m in Justo (not to be confused with Mexican grocery delivery Jüsto), a Chilean e-commerce sales management platform.
> Valor Capital Group led a US$2.2m round in Dolado, a Brazilian inventory and digital sales management platform for SMEs in city peripheries, with participation from Global Founders Capital, Norte Capital, Provence Capital, and partners from Lightspeed Ventures and Expanding Capital.
> #CVC Bradesco’s Inovabra Ventures invested US$1m in 4intelligenge, a Brazilian machine learning and data processing automation platform for businesses.
> Iporanga Ventures led a R$3.6m round in Floki, a Brazilian supplier management platform for restaurants, with participation from founders of Viva Real, olist, Guiabolso, and Apontador.
> Hygia Bank, a Brazilian savings platform for healthcare-related expenses, raised a R$3m seed round from undisclosed investors.
> #INSURTECH G2 Momentum Capital made an undisclosed investment in Berrysafe, a Mexican insurance marketplace connecting consumers with independent insurance providers.
> #ANGEL Byou, a Brazilian platform for hiring on-demand developers, raised R$120k from angels.