> Mexican fintech startup Konfio partnered with Uber to provide loans up to MX$250k for drivers to buy their own car in Uber’s top market globally. From Konfio CEO David Arana:
"The intention is to get more drivers to become independent sole-proprietors, since this massively improves their income and lifestyle. It’s a way of creating financial inclusion by using our methodology to underwrite loans to drivers that otherwise would not get access. The partnership is working great with a massive and rapidly growing number of drivers serviced so far, thanks to Uber’s dominant user base in Mexico and ability to execute. We still have a long way to go, but we’re very happy with the results so far and it’s a promising long-term relationship."
Konfio is KaszeK Ventures and QED Investors’ first investment in Mexico. READ LAVCA’s interview with David Arana after raising a Series A from KaszeK, QED, Quona, and Jaguar Ventures.
> Conekta and OXXO launched OXXO Pay, a strategic partnership with corporate investor FEMSA Comercio to allow Mexicans without a bank account or credit card to pay for online purchases at over 14,000 OXXO stores. READ LAVCA’s interview with Conekta CEO Hector Cardenas on the heels of their Series A investment from VARIV Capital and Jaguar Ventures, retail giant FEMSA Comercio, and Conconi Growth Partners in Vancouver.
> El Economista covers electricity giant Engie’s strategic investment in Mexican solar startup Enlight with participation from ALLVP, to double the number of residential and commercial solar installations in Mexico. Enlight CEO Jullian Willenbrock says combating climate change was also a factor behind starting the company, especially in the context of challenges it poses for Mexico City.
> El Financiero covers Google for Entrepreneurs’ partnership with Centraal co-working space in Mexico City, including Google Launchpad alums Conekta, Aliadas.com.mx, and Miroculus, a cancer diagnostic startup.
> WIRED: Startups Can Escape Their Cash Crunch by Going to Mexico.
> MercadoLibre is spending US$100m on its Mexican operations in 2017, which is almost all the revenue they made in 2016.
> Amazon AWS partnered with the Chilean government to promote education, training, and entrepreneurship around cloud services/products.
> Forbes covers Tala, a US-based startup offering micro-loans via smartphones that just raised US$30m from IVP and Ribbit Capital. IVP General Partner Jules Maltz is also an investor in Opportun, which markets loans to the under-banked Hispanic population in the U.S., and SoFi, which refinances college loans, joins the board.