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LATAM VENTURE BULLETIN
A must read roundup of startup deals and news on emerging technologies in Latin
America, delivered to over 7,000 investors, entrepreneurs and corporates bi-weekly.
27 July 2023 |
The LatAm Venture Bulletin is produced by Carlos Ramos de la Vega, LAVCA’s Director of Venture Capital. | | LAVCA has been tracking PE/VC investment in AI companies in Latin America since 2019. Between 2019 and 2022, the number of deals in the sector increased 2x and capital increased 7x.
AI is still a nascent vertical in the region, accounting for less than 1% of VC dollars deployed since 2019. While still low, investors have signaled greater interest in supporting portfolio companies in finding ways to apply AI to their existing business models.
This year's LAVCA Week in New York will feature a discussion with industry leaders on the intersection between IoT and AI. More information on 2023 LAVCA Week here.
LAVCA Members can email Emanuel Hernandez, LAVCA’s Director of Research, at ehernandez@lavca.org for additional insights. |
| LAVCA Week 2023
Registration is open for LAVCA Week 2023, taking place 10-13 October at the Conrad New York Downtown in New York City.
Featured Speakers |
David Flannery
Senior Managing Director
Vista Credit Partners |
Gina Sanchez
Chair of Board of Investments Trustees
Los Angeles County Employee Retirement Association (LACERA) Board of Investments | Marcelo Claure
Founder & CEO
Claure Group |
Allen Taylor
Managing Partner
Endeavor Catalyst
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Agenda at a Glance
| | | TUESDAY 10 October | Welcome Reception for LAVCA Members hosted by Advent International | | | | WEDNESDAY
11 October | LAVCA Week & Reception hosted by Vista Equity Partners | | | | THURSDAY
12 October | LAVCA Week & Tech Reception hosted byKASZEK & Riverwood Capital | | | | FRIDAY
13 October
| LAVCA Week Breakout Sessions | |
Registration is open to LAVCA Members, qualified institutional investors and non-member private capital investors, subject to approval.
LAVCA Members have access to special early bird rates through 31 August 2023.
For inquiries, please contact lavcaweek@lavca.org.
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| Mercado Libre and DILA Capital | Elenas
Deal Case
Elenas is a social commerce platform that empowers micro-entrepreneurs in Colombia and Mexico to launch online businesses by selling products on social media sites.
Following its USD20m Series B led by DILA Capital, Elenas has been focused on enhancing unit economics, expanding in Mexico and refining its technology platform to support projected growth. The company has over 200,000 active sellers, out of which 95% are estimated to be women. The startup has generated USD15m in additional income for micro-entrepreneurs while promoting financial inclusion with 47% of sellers opening their first bank account to receive sales commissions.
Other investors include Mercado Libre, Polymath Ventures, Partners for Growth, Alpha4 Ventures, Amador Holdings, Meesho, Leo Capital, FJ Labs, Endeavor Catalyst, IDB Lab, Acacia Venture Capital Partners, Broadhaven Capital Partners, Cambium Grove Capital and Grupo Bolivar.
Elenas was nominated for a deal case highlighted by LAVCA Member Mercado Libre.
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| Startups
▸ M&A | Brazilian marketplace Enjoei acquired Elo7, a Brazilian handmade products marketplace, from Etsy.
Etsy acquired Elo7 in July 2021 in an USD217m all-cash deal, providing an exit to monashees, Accel Partners and Insight Partners. Enjoei listed on the B3 in 2021, raising ~USD200m in financing and providing an exit to monashees and Bessemer Venture Partners.
▸ M&A | Puntored, a Colombian digital payments platform, acquired Gestopago, a Mexican payments platform.
The SEAF Colombia Agribusiness Fund (SCAF), USAID and DFC invested in Puntored in September 2022; Adobe Capital invested in March 2020. ▸ M&A | Vest, a Mexican retail investment platform, merged with its Brazilian counterpart SproutFi to launch operations in the US market. Vest investors include NAZCA, FJ Labs, Class 5 Global and Tamarack Global; SproutFi investors include Marathon Ventures, Quiet Capital, YC, Liquid 2 Ventures and First Check Ventures, among others. ▸ FOODTECH | NotCo partnered with plant-based companies Vida Veg, Positive Company and NUDE to launch Base Planta, a lobbying association to advocate on the growth and fiscal opportunities for plant-based food initiatives to grow sustainably in Brazil.
▸ Congrats to the startups selected to participate in Google for Startups’ Black Founders Fund 2023 cohort: Biti9, Blue Fleet, Edmond, Leadster, Magnet Customer, Orby,Co., PlayBPO, Scaleup, Solar21, Tribute, Twiggy and Vixting.
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| Deals
▸ DEBT | Mexican lending platform Konfío renewed a ~USD90m credit line from JP Morgan.
Konfio secured a ~USD28m credit line extension from Goldman Sachs and Gramercy earlier this year, a USD10m debt facility from Citibanamex, DFC and Ford Foundation in March 2022 and a USD80m credit line from Community Investment Management in December 2021. ▸ DEBT | IFC provided a USD50m loan to dmX, a Mexican credit platform for retirees.
▸ HEALTHTECH | Conceivable Life Sciences, a Mexico-based automated IVF services startup, closed a USD20m seed round from Stride.VC, ACME, Cadence Ventures, Future Positive and Black Opal Ventures.
▸ GSV Ventures led a USD19m Series A for mattilda, a Mexican finance management and tuition collection platform, with follow-on from FinTech Collective and DILA Capital.
DEBT | Addem Capital provided a credit line of up to USD10m in February; FinTech Collective led a USD10m seed round in November 2022. ▸ WOMEN-LED | Foodology, a Colombian dark kitchen operator, raised a USD17m round with participation from 30N Ventures, and follow-on from Andreessen Horowitz and Chimera. Foodology raised USD20m and secured USD30m in debt from TriplePoint Capital in October 2022; Andreessen Horowitz and Base Partners led a USD15m Series A in November 2021; Wollef invested in August 2020. Foodology was co-founded by Daniela Izquierdo. ▸ AGTECH | Culttivo, a Brazilian financing platform for coffee growers, raised ~USD14.5m through an Investment Fund for Agroindustrial Productive Chains (Fiagro). KPTL invested ~USD1.2m in January 2022. ▸ DEBT | AgroForte Digital, a Brazilian lending platform for poultry, swine, eggs and milk producers, raised ~USD8.5m in debt through a FIDC (Fundo de Investimentos em Direitos Creditorios) from Bamboo Debt Capital Markets Platform. Brazilian accelerator Futurum Capital led a ~USD1.2m round in February 2022. ▸ DEBT | Elenas, a Colombian social commerce platform with operations in Colombia and Mexico, secured an undisclosed debt facility from Partners for Growth. DILA Capital led a USD20m round in June 2022; Elenas raised USD6m in March 2021 and USD2m in 2020. ▸ LOGISTICS | VCM Global Asset Management led a USD4.5m round for Cargo Produce, a US-based global supply chain management platform. Cargo Produce was co-founded by Chileans Miguel Ángel Jubal and Francisco del Rio. ▸ CLEANTECH |Positivo Tecnologia’s Equity Investment Fund invested ~USD6.5m in Earth Renewable Technologies, a Brazilian biopolymer plastic startup.
▸ CVC | Inovabra, the CVC arm of Bradesco, invested ~USD3.5m in Exato, a Brazilian background check platform.
▸ Resend, a US-based email formatting platform, raised USD3m from YC, SV Angels and other undisclosed investors.
Resend was co-founded by Brazilian Zeno Rocha. ▸ CLEANTECH |MSW Capital’s MultiCorp2 fund led a ~USD2.5m Series A for Voltbras, a Brazilian manufacturer of charging stations for EVs, with follow-on from DOMO Invest, Perseo, the CVC arm of Iberdrola Spain, and EDP Ventures. Voltbras raised a ~USD600k round in March 2022. ▸ EDTECH |X8 Investimentos invested ~USD2m in Tera, a Brazilian data science and digital marketing upskilling platform. Arco Educação invested in May 2021. ▸ Taram Capital led a USD2m round for Regcheq, a Chilean compliance process monitoring platform, with follow-on from Grupo Sable and Consorcio. Regcheq raised a USD1.6m round in December 2021. ▸ EDTECH | NXTP led a ~USD1.6m pre-seed round for Teachy, a Brazilian AI-based school teacher management platform.
▸ Bridge LatAm and CRIVO led a ~USD1m round for Dinerama, a Brazilian consumer data analytics platform, with participation from Nubank Angels, ThoughtWorks, and others.
▸ Cedro Capital and KPTL’s GovTech fund invested ~USD800k in Augen, a Brazilian sanitation infrastructure solutions provider.
▸ iFriend, a Brazilian tour guide booking platform, raised~USD450k in equity crowdfunding through Captable.
Wintech Ventures invested ~USD100k earlier this year ▸ DOMO Invest and BossaNova Investimentos led ~USD200k round for B2 List, a Brazilian B2B e-commerce platform based on personalized recommendations.
▸ DOMO Invest led a ~USD200k seed round for Viddy, a Brazilian CRM platform.
▸ Kamay Ventures invested in INI, an Argentine radiofrequency-based payment platform focused on remote areas with low connectivity.
▸ ANGEL |GrowinCo, a Brazilian B2B marketplace connecting CPG brands with underutilized factory facilities, raised ~USD750k from GVAngels, Harvard Angels, Urca Angels and others.
▸ ANGEL |Anjos do Brasil invested in DNA Financeiro, a Brazilian financial and accounting management platform for SMEs.
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| | ▸ DEBT | Namari Capital (formerly Nila Capital) reached a ~USD40m close for its flagship venture debt fund to invest in early-growth stage startups in Brazil. Namari Capital was co-founded by Gabriela Gonçalves. Namari’s fund is anchored by Brazilian credit asset manager Augme Capital, as well as Verde Asset and Solis Investimentos. ▸ PERU | PERU Peruvian FoF COFIDE made a USD3m commitment to Alaya Capital III, Alaya Capital’s third flagship fund with a USD50m target to invest in early-stage startups across Spanish-speaking Latin America. Alaya Capital’s latest investments include Moova, Teamcubation, Megabite, Talently, Instacash, Preauth and Lemon Cash. ▸ GUATEMALA |Guatemala-based VC Invariantes launched its third flagship fund with a USD30m target to invest in Latin American funds as well as US- and Latin American early-stage startups. Invariantes’ recent direct investments include Favik, Picker, kubo.financiero, Monkey Foods and Merama. |
| News
▸ Uruguay-based fintech dLocal was approved by the Brazilian Central Bank to operate as a payment institution in Brazil.
▸ CRYPTO | Binance reduced its workforce by a thousand employees globally.
This is the latest restructuring for the global crypto company that continues to face the US Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly operating as an unregistered securities exchange within the country. ▸ AI | The voice of prominent Brazilian singer Elis Regina has been brought back to life through AI. Singer, who passed away at 36 years old in 1982, currently appears in a Volkswagen commercial dueting with her daughter. ▸ Openbank of Banco Santander and Hey of Banregio are the two latest financial institutions to receive approval from the Mexican Securities and Exchange Commission (CNBV) to operate as digital banks in Mexico.
▸ CARS OLX, a US-based online classifieds site, shut down operations in Colombia given the recent drop in vehicle demand in the country.
OLX also shut down operations in Ecuador and Peru in August 2022; the company’s operations will now be exclusively focused in Brazil and Chile. ▸ Forbes reviews Nubank’s successful go-to-market strategy in Latin America and weighs its effectiveness in the US market in Brazil’s Nubank Is Leaving U.S. Digital Banks In The Dust. |
| People & Programs ▸ ALIVE Ventures will be hosting a webinar on 1 August 2023 to mark the release of their two inaugural gender inclusion research initiatives. Prepared by ALIVE and Value for Women, these two reports explore gender dynamics in EdTech and HRTech value chains in Latin America.
Anyone interested in how business can be a driving force for gender equality in the region is welcome to register. |
| LAVCA Job Board ▸ DILA Capital is looking for a Senior Investment Analyst to join its team in CDMX. Interested candidates are welcome to apply.
▸ Headline is looking for an intern to join its investment team in São Paulo. Interested candidates are welcome to apply.
▸ Riverwood Capital is looking for a consultant/manager specializing in marketing, PR and events to support the firm’s communications efforts globally. Interested candidates can contact caitlin@rwcm.com
LAVCA Members: We welcome your job recs for future editions. Email cramos@lavca.org with information on relevant opportunities.
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