FUNDS

> Valor Capital raised at least US$56.8m toward a US$100m second VC fund, according to an SEC filing.

> Chilean VC Manutara Ventures joined DVNBeta, the Draper Venture Network for seed and first time funds. In the region, Brazilian accelerator ACE is also part of DVNBeta, and Argentine VC Cygnus is part of DVN through its Draper Cygnus fund.

EXITS

> IGNIA sold its participation in Mexican sustainable tuna producer Grupo Procesa to the Central American Mezzanine Infrastructure Fund II LP (CAMIF II), managed by LAP Latin American Partners.

> #EDTECH 📚 Tarpon is set to exit Somos Educação by selling a controlling stake to Kroton, Brazil’s largest for-profit education firm, for US$1.34b.

• In 2017 Somos Educação acquired AppProva, generating a net IRR of 51% for AppProva investor e.Bricks Ventures, and acquired Stoodi for a reported R$15m.

IMPACT

> ANDE, the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs, opened an Andean office, led by Lina Rossi, that will serve Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.

> SITAWI, a Brazilian organization developing financial solutions for social impact, is hosting a Finanças do Bem workshop on May 8-9 in São Paulo. View the agenda and register here.

> Global impact accelerator Agora Partnerships is hiring a Managing Director to be based in Mexico City or Bogotá. Apply here.

> Village Capital is looking for early stage entrepreneurs in Latin America that are helping improve financial health to join its FinTech: LatAm 2018 investment readiness program. Apply here.

> Impact investing firm Capria is seeking 3-5 investment managers based in and investing in emerging markets that can deliver superior financial returns with scalable impact. Apply by April 27.

> Power to Grow: The Innovation Challenge will support organizations that are empowering micro-enterprises in Central America. Apply by April 27.

> New Ventures and BBVA Bancomer are looking for 100 social and environmental entrepreneurs to be part of the 6th generation of BBVA Momentum Mexico. Apply before May 7th.

> FOMIN and ICE will invest up to US$1.6m in early-stage impact startups, accelerators, and incubators. Apply by May 18.

> Innovate UK, through the Colombian Prosperity Fund Programme, will invest up to £3m to enable UK and Colombian partners to address agricultural challenges in post-conflict and conflict-affected regions in Colombia. Apply by July 18.

NEWS

> Ecommerce platform Linio (backed by LIV Capital) could be one of the first companies to list on BIVA, Mexico’s new stock exchange.

> Amazon is stepping up its investment in Brazil as it prepares to sell and ship products directly to consumers.

> Colombian digital music startup FullNota (accelerated at Wayra Colombia) launched an AI-powered distribution platform for independent musicians.

> Kenyan fintech company Tala has plans to expand into Mexico with new funding from Revolution Growth, IVP, Data Collective, Lowercase Capital, Ribbit Capital, and Female Founders Fund.

> Uber is expanding its app functionality to include bikes, buses, and trains.

> China and South Korea are winning the race to 5G.

> WIRED: People are still genuinely confused about what data their smartphone apps can and can’t access.

> NYMag interviews former Reddit SVP of Product: ‘I Fundamentally Believe That My Time at Reddit Made the World a Worse Place’

> WSJ says VC investment from Asia is skyrocketing in Silicon Valley Powered American Tech Dominance—Now It Has a Challenger:

Asian investors directed nearly as much money into startups last year as American investors did—40% of the record $154 billion in global venture financing versus 44%.

> Japan now represents 12% of global VC investment, largely due to SoftBank. Just in Q3 2017, SoftBank was behind four of the five biggest venture capital deals globally, and financed 20% of all investment in US startups that quarter.

> Brazil's IPO market is set for its busiest week in seven years, according to Bloomberg.

> Facebook is hosting local meetups during its annual F8 Facebook Developer Conference on May 1 in Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile, Guatemala City, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Belo Horizonte, Campinas, Santa Rita do Sapucaí, São Paulo, and Uberlândia.

> Polymath Ventures is looking for a co-founder/COO to join Colombian employment technology startup VincuVentas and lead their expansion to Mexico. Details here.

> Maria Ariza has left AMEXCAP to take on the role of Director of BIVA, Mexico’s new stock exchange.

> Startupbootcamp Fintech Mexico City partnered with IGNIA to focus on financial inclusion for its second batch. Apply by June 3.

> LAVCA hosts VC in São Paulo, our annual meeting for fund managers investing in Brazil, on May 8 at Google São Paulo. Request an invitation by contacting Claudia Rosenbloom (crosenbloom@lavca.org).

> LAVCA hosts a Workshop for Emerging VCs on May 16 in Buenos Aires and May 17 in Santiago de Chile. The program for first-and-second-time fund managers, corporate VCs, heads of accelerators, and notable angels will focus on legal best practices to set up early-stage companies for successful follow-on financing. Request an invitation by contacting Claudia Rosenbloom (crosenbloom@lavca.org).

> Join LAVCA's Director of Research Eduardo Roman for a panel on VC and real estate tech at the Proptech LatAm Summit on June 7 in Santiago, Chile. LAVCA has a limited number of complimentary passes for member investors. Contact cmitchell@lavca.org to reserve your pass.

ENTREPRENEUR POV

> Ubiraci Mercês, Founder/CEO of Sanar (Series A from e.bricks and Vox Capital), on the edtech opportunity in Brazil:

The edtech space in Brazil is huge as people are changing their behaviors and having access to quality content without leaving home. This is a game changer—it is altering the way students and professionals relate to content. At this point, those who better understand the student's perspective will come out ahead.

Our purpose is to deeply understand the customer needs of healthcare professionals and deliver fast, practical and relevant content, raising their desire of achieving their goals and reducing the friction among the process of motivating itself and doing a program that leads them to success.

INVESTOR POV

> Barn Investimentos founder Flavio Zaclis talks about exiting Strider, an agtech crop optimization platform with investments from monashees+ and Qualcomm Ventures, that was acquired by agribusiness giant Syngenta for an undisclosed amount:

O retorno do deal e consequentemente do fundo foi muito bom. Estamos devolvendo o fundo inteiro algumas vezes o valor em menos de 5 anos.

> Billionaire VC John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins asks: “Do you have the right metrics?”

CRYPTO

> Santander launched a foreign exchange service for same-day international money transfers, using Ripple’s blockchain technology. Santander says they are the first bank to roll out a cross-border payments service on the blockchain. Initial launch is in Spain, the U.K., Brazil, and Poland, with a wider roll-out in the coming months.

> Baidu launched a blockchain-based stock photo service in bid to protect image intellectual property in China.

> MIT Technology Review: Inside the Jordan refugee camp that runs on blockchain.

THE FUTURE WILL BE TRACKED

> India is rolling out a massive digital identification program, scanning fingerprints, eyes, and faces of its 1.3 billion residents:

India’s program is in a league of its own, both in the mass collection of biometric data and in the attempt to link it to everything — traffic tickets, bank accounts, pensions, even meals for undernourished schoolchildren.

> China is working on an equally paradigm-shifting program: “Quietly and very rapidly, facial recognition has enabled China to become the world’s most advanced surveillance state.”

> BBC: Chinese man caught by facial recognition at pop concert: “He didn't think the police would be able to catch him from a crowd of 60,000 so quickly.”

> Reuters: Singapore to test facial recognition on lampposts, stoking privacy fears.

> Gizmodo: Covering your face is not enough: It's possible to recognize faces with 30% and in some cases 50% occlusion.

> WIRED: Protect your privacy with anti-surveillance clothing.

The LatAm Venture Bulletin is the VC/tech newsletter and content platform of the Latin American Private Equity and Venture Capital Association.

Have news we should include? Please email news@lavca.org.