$149 million in fintech funding (equity and debt)

Hola amig@s fintech,

Happy Memorial Day and ‘puente’ to our US-based fintech friends.  📣  For the VCs and investors in the audience, if you haven’t already done so, be sure to share your input for a first-of-its-kind mapping of diversity in the Latam ecosystem.  Survey closes 9 June!  👉  bit.ly/DVCLatamSurvey

Please find below this week’s front page of Latam fintech news. If you’re reading this on the web, we’d appreciate your support by sharing and subscribing.  

💛 Until next weekend. Até a próxima! - Team TWIF Latam

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📊 Stat of the Week

💬  Quote of the Week

“Make sure that what is moving you is a very deep purpose, because there will be very good days but also very bad days, and the only way to get ahead even in those very bad streaks, is to be able to resort to your passion and your purpose, if that does not exist, you will give up very quickly.” Gabriela Estrada, Co-Founder & CEO - Vexi, in Startupeable Podcast

📖  Read of the Week

According to theGlobal Fintech 2023 report co-authored by BCG and QED Investors, the fintech sector, which currently accounts for just 2% of global financial services revenue, is estimated to reach $1.5 trillion in annual revenue by 2030, accounting for nearly 25 % of all bank valuations worldwide.  Check out the full report or listen to the podcast summary.

💸 Venture Financing

💸Equity

🇦🇷 Num Finance, the Buenos Aires-based DeFi protocol, raised a $1.5 million pre-seed round led by Reserve with participation from H2O Scouter Fund, Ripio’s venture arm, VC3 DAO and Matias Woloski of Auth0.  Num Finance currently operates in Argentina, Colombia, and Brazil offering B2B services such as loans and yields powered by stablecoins.  With this funding round, it plans to launch new stablecoin tokens for the Brazilian Real (nBRL), Colombian Peso (nCOP), and the Mexican Peso (nMXN).

🇨🇴 Trébol, the Bogotá-based credit underwriting software-as-a-service (SaaS), raised a $3 million seed round led by Better Tomorrow Ventures and Canaan Partners with participation from Y Combinator, SOMA Capital, Unpopular Ventures, and various angel investors.  Trébol offers an API that integrates disparate sources of data to help banks and other financial institutions assess and provide credit to small businesses. The funds will be used to expand its presence in Colombia, Mexico, and launch in Brazil within the next year.

🇵🇷 Kiwi, the Puerto Rican credit platform, raised a $4.5 million seed round led by Advent-Morro Equity Partners, Altio Capital, and Independent Capital in addition to a $75 million debt facility from i80 Group.  Kiwi helps Latino consumers in the US establish credit and access to capital.  

🇲🇽 Kapital, the Mexican business banking platform for SMBs, raised a $20 million Series A led by Niya Partners and Tribe Capital, with participation from Broom Ventures, FoundersX, Pioneer Fund, Kube VC, amongst others.  Kapital also announced a new $45 million debt facility from Accial Capital.  The startup offers enterprise reporting, a corporate credit card, bill payment and cash flow management to over 11,000 companies and is planning to expand to Colombia.

💵 Debt
$120 million raised between Kiwi and Kapital (see above)

💰 Venture funds

🌐 Innogen Capital announced ICV Delta Fund I, a $10 million fund to invest in 18-20 early-stage companies in Colombia, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean who are focused on financial inclusion, health, education, proptech, and agriculture.

🌐 QED Investors announced two new funds: a $650 million early-stage fund plus a $275 million growth-stage fund to back fintech companies in the US, UK, Europe, Latam, Africa, and Southeast Asia.  This takes the firm to over $3 billion in assets under management.  Its Latam portfolio includes Nubank, Bitso, Creditas, Tribal Credit*, Guiabolso, Fairplay, Kavak, Pomelo, and Syntage*, amongst others.

☯️ Exits

💻 IPOs & SPACs

After complications and stipulations raised by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador with regard to the potential sale of its Banamex retail unit, Citigroup announced it has abandoned its plan to sell the division to Grupo México, opting to pursue an initial public offering (IPO) targeted for 2025 once the spin-off of the Banamex division is completed.  Banamex includes credit cards, retail banking, consumer loans, residential mortgage lending, insurance, amongst other aspects.  Citi will continue to operate the business banking unit in Mexico, which provides banking and advisory services to institutional clients and investors.

🚀 Product Launches & Partnerships

💻 Fintech

🇲🇽 CellPoint Digital, the European payments orchestration platform, and Grupo Xcaret, the Mexican travel and hospitality firm, announced a partnership to simplify travel payments. The collaboration aims to provide a secure and efficient cross-border payment solution for the travel industry, improving customer engagement, and reducing payment costs.

🇧🇷 PicPay, the Brazilian digital wallet app, and Creditas, the Brazilian consumer credit platform, launched a vehicle-backed credit option. Users can obtain loans ranging from $1,000 to $30,000, with vehicles up to 15 years old eligible for collateral up to 90%. PicPay's super app has 30 million active monthly users.

🇦🇷 Proyecto DANE, the Argentine fintech initiative, launched Cómo pago, a virtual wallet app for people with disabilities. The app teaches money management, savings, and enables users to simulate purchases, fostering autonomy and independence. The app helps individuals with disabilities understand and navigate financial aspects of daily life.

🇦🇷 Taringa!, the Argentinian social networking platform Spanish-speaking users, announced its beta app as the first step in creating a "digital nation." The company aims to become a leading platform in the Web3 space, inviting users to contribute and discover quality content while emphasizing meaningful interactions and transparent rewards for content creators.

🇲🇽 Flink, the Mexican consumer trading platform, launched crypto trading in Mexico, offering users the ability to buy and sell Bitcoin and Ether within the app. The app aims to provide a simple and accessible way for Mexicans to participate in the crypto market, addressing the lack of access and complexity associated with existing platforms.

📜 Policy

🇲🇽 Ualá, the Argentina-based digital banking app, received final approval from the Mexican financial regulatory agency (CNBV) and the Central Bank for the acquisition of the Mexican bank, ABC Capital. The acquisition process was initiated over a year ago and will allow Ualá to release banking products that few fintechs have in Mexico, vis à vis the limited products that are permitted under the Fintech Law.

🇧🇷 The National Monetary Council of Brazil and the Central Bank approved a rule requiring financial institutions and authorized entities to share data and information on fraud and scams in the National Financial System (SFN) and the Brazilian Payment System (SPB). The deadline for implementation is set for November 1, 2023.

🇧🇷 The Central Bank of Brazil unveiled the list of 14 projects that were approved to participate in the testing phase of the Real Digital (central bank digital currency, CBDC) pilot. Among the selected participants are banks such as BTG, Bradesco, and Itaú, as well as companies such as Microsoft, Visa, and B3. The pilot was announced at the beginning of March and there are finally approved projects for its testing.

🇨🇴The Financial Superintendence of Colombia, the financial regulator, is seeking public input on Open Banking until May 31. The consultation aims to improve regulations related to technology and financial digital infrastructure and to promote innovation and make financial services more efficient through open banking.

📰 Other News

🇦🇷 Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange, and the Universidad Austral of Argentina announced a partnership to offer a Binance Academy, a program that will consist of a five-month training that will include courses on blockchain, Web 3.0, metaverse, and digital assets trading.

🌐 IDB Lab and Google announced the 15 finalists of the WeXchange Women STEMpreneurs Competition 2023; WeXchange seeks to make it easier for female entrepreneurs to connect with other female entrepreneurs and investors, as well as participate in training and mentoring. The finalists include: B2Gov (Argentina), Dinie (Brasil), Enteria (Uruguay), Flevo (Argentina), GenderLab (Perú), IncluirTech (Colombia), Kaudal (Perú), MetaBix Biotech (Uruguay), Munay (Bolivia), Nippy (Argentina), SmartTerm (Trinidad y Tobago), Suncast (Chile), Sylvarum (Argentina), Taxo (Ecuador) y Vopero (México).

🌐 500 Latam announced its Batch 18, with startups focused on building technological products, whose focus is on solving latent problems in Latam. Among those selected are 3 fintech startups: Invera (Argentina), LedgiFi (Chile) and Takenos (Argentina).

📚 Deeper Reads

Neobanks expand their share in Brazil’s $1 trillion credit market

Remittances and financial inclusion (ES)

Competition on foreign currency products heats up in Brazil, unveiling a new niche

Will fintech take over regional banking?

Guide of fintech businesses in El Salvador (ES)

Made in Latam with 💛 by Elena, Daniela, Lorena, and Christine

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