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> Swedish investor Vostok Emerging Finance led a R$20m investment in Brazilian fintech platform Nibo, with participation from existing investors Redpoint e.ventures and Valor Capital.
> The IFC made a US$3m investment in Moni, an Argentine fintech platform. > Omidyar Network and MDIF (New York’s Media Development Investment Fund) invested R$4m in Colab.re, a Brazilian civic engagement app that allows users to notify local governments of issues in real time so they can provide quick solutions. > Bossa Nova Investimentos made an undisclosed investment in Pluga, a Brazilian web services integration platform.
> Omidyar Network and the Lemann Foundation are collaborating to invest in the development of technological solutions to facilitate the implementation of the National Learning Standards in Brazil. Eliza Erikson at Omidyar says, “We see tremendous opportunity to invest in innovative tools that promise to improve learning outcomes in Brazil."
> Oikocredit invested €2.7m in Vehículos Liquidos Financieros (VELIFIN), a private wholesale lender in Mexico.
> ImpactAlpha on impact signals for VCs: “That a large European venture capital firm is turning to ESG largely for its business advantages, not only its societal benefits, is a signal of the investment edge to be gained by attention to so-called non-economic factors.”
> CGAP: Seasonal, Unsteady Income Drives Economic Vulnerability in Brazil -- “While much has been discussed the past couple of years about the Brazilian economic miracle, the fact is that 57.2 million Brazilians still belong to the poor and vulnerable classes.”
> The government of Jujuy in northwest Argentina partnered with Wayra-accelerated startup uSound to launch "Jujuy Escucha," an initiative to improve the quality of life for people with hearing impairments.
> Bamboo Finance is looking for a Private Equity Investment Manager focusing on Latin American investments to join the team in Bogotá, Colombia.
> Americas Quarterly: Investment Funds See Promise in Latin America
> Bloomberg: Can Wal-Mart’s Expensive New E-Commerce Operation Compete With Amazon?
> NYTimes: Goldman Sachs Sees Big Potential for Fintech in Brazil
> IBT: Santiago Stock Exchange Will Be The First In Latin America To Use Blockchain
> TechCrunch: How US Tech Companies Can Help Cuban Entrepreneurs
> Axios: What Google Announced on Day 1 of its I/O Conference
> Nexo: Como o Vale do Silício quer mudar a educação básica com AltSchool
> TermSheet’s Erin Griffith does an excellent Q&A on Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), which are starting to compete with VCs providing venture capital to fintech startups. As an example, US VC firm Blockchain Capital raised US$10m in six hours selling its digital tokens to investors.
> Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella urged developers at Microsoft’s annual developer showcase to consider the potential “unintended consequences” of their creations. From Fortune: “He cited Orwell’s 1984 and its prophecy that one day technology will be “used to control and dictate” the masses, which he said he wanted to avoid.”
> Forbes goes inside Google’s privacy fight against the US government, and the implications it can have for Gmail users globally.
> Dinero: Tired of Waiting in Line? This Colombian App Has the Solution
> Great to see partners from monashees+, Redpoint eventures, KaszeK Ventures, DGF, Astella Investimentos, and Wayra Brasil, the accelerator of Telefonica Open Future_, at Omidyar Network’s annual meeting in São Paulo last week.
> Google's Roy Glasberg announced the fourth class of Google Launchpad’s Accelerator, including eight startups from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico. Congrats to e.Bricks & KaszeK’s Contabilizei and VARIV Capital’s InstaFit for joining the program.
> IE Business School is hosting Fintech Venture Day on May 25 in Mexico City. Details here.
> Xpand Ventures announced an open call for startups in Argentina. Apply by May 30 to participate in Xpand VC - 2017 Program.
> Colombia entrepreneurs can apply for 1 of 10 spots to go to South Summit in Madrid on October 4-6 by attending a startup competition hosted at Wayra on May 30.
> UTEC Ventures, MIF, and COFIDE will be hosting Peru Venture Capital Conference on June 13-14 in Lima.
> Convocatorias: Telefonica Open Future_ announces open calls in Brazil and Costa Rica. Apply by June 20 to participate in Crowd Vale da Eletrônica or by June 18 to participate in Costa Rica Open Future_.
> FT interviews partners at Accel, Astella Investimentos, Bossa Nova Investimentos, and monashees+ in Brazil’s Technology Startups Lure Capital Back After Recession:
"Accel’s Mr Efrusy on a recent visit to Brazil: I felt like there were seven or eight companies that could be public companies almost anywhere, in the US, on Nasdaq, within three years.”
> Heather Strachan of Village Capital: Why Do Investors Continue to Shortchange Entrepreneurs in Emerging Markets?
> Stanford GSB interviews Federico Antonini of ALLVP on what it takes to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem in Mexico
> Romero Rodrigues for TechCrunch: Brazil’s Fintech Boom Offers New Vertical Opportunities for Investors
> Nathan Lustig of Magma Partners for TechCrunch: A New Era for Startup Investing in Latin America.
> Fortune: How SoftBank Plans to Push Deeper Into India, the ‘Land of Golden Opportunity’
> WSJ: How SoftBank and Saudi Arabia Settled Their Differences to Birth the World’s Biggest Tech Fund
> Bloomberg: Rich Families Go Solo on Deals, Moving Away From Private Equity
> AngelList is putting US$35m behind established operator-angels with the creation of Angel Funds. AngelList CEO Naval Ravikant says AngelFunds will create hundreds of new VCs and empower former entrepreneurs to invest more money in founders.
> Phil Libin (ex-CEO of Evernote) is leaving General Catalyst to start a new startup studio:
"We are trying to learn as many lessons from the likes of them as we can but I think what we’re doing is pretty different. We’re modelling ourselves after Netflix rather than startup incubators. But rather than making the world’s best original TV shows, we want to make the best AI products. We want to attract the best people to produce these in a professional setting and help them with the distribution. It’s probably more Hollywood than Silicon Valley."
> This study by Harvard Business Review has been making the rounds in Silicon Valley this week: We Recorded VCs’ Conversations and Analyzed How Differently They Talk About Female Entrepreneurs
> The Intercept: As Uber Probes Sexual Harassment at its Offices, it Overlooks Hundreds of Thousands of Female Drivers
> Forbes: Meet 20 Women Advancing A.I. Research and Top Women Investors In VC In 2017
The LatAm Venture Bulletin is a news platform of the Latin American Private Equity and Venture Capital Association.
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