Hola amig@s fintech,

For all our Brazilian friends 🇧🇷! We’re two days away from our  São Paulo Fintech Happy Hour on Tuesday, July 16, co-hosted with Ensemblex and our local community. Connect with founders, operators, and VCs from Divibank, Rivool Finance, Credix Finance, Flourish Ventures, Kazsek, Monashees, Quona Capital, and more. RSVP and share with your network.

Below is 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!

• Lorena

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📊 Stat and read of the Week

The "Nubecommerce 2023" study by Tiendanube analyzes the growth of e-commerce in Latin America. In Mexico, online sales increased by 50% compared to the previous year, driven by the expansion of digital businesses and the adoption of e-commerce platforms. Among the most used payment methods, credit (31%) and debit (25%) cards stand out, as well as the new BNPL models (18%).

🦉 Post of the Week

🎙️ Podcast of the Week

💸 Venture Financing

💸 Equity

🇦🇷 Tapi, the Argentinian payments processor, raised a $22 million Series A round led by Kaszek while continuing its expansion in Mexico.  

🌎 BucksApp, the Paraguayan/Bolivian B2B financial data optimization startup, raised $1 million in a Pre-Seed round led by iThink VC and BuenTrip Ventures, and with participation of Escalatec.   

💵 Debt 

🇧🇷 Solfácil, the Brazilian financial facilitator for the solar energy market, raised $138 millions through the issuance of CRI (Real Estate Receivables Certificates). 

☯️ Exits

🤝 M&A - Fintech

🌎 Innova360, the Chilean CVC consulting company, and Bluebox Ventures, the Mexican startup accelerator, announced a merge to form Innova360 powered by Bluebox, now overseeing $15 million across eight venture funds in LatAm. 

🚀 Product Launches & Partnerships

💻 Fintech 

🇨🇴 Clara, the Brazilian corporate payments platform, announced the launch of a new AI-driven tool named "Insights" to enhance financial management for businesses. This feature provides actionable insights into spending and subscriptions, helping companies identify potential savings.

🇵🇪 Minka, the Colombian real-time digital payment rail developer, Gmoney, the Peruvian digital wallets and currency exchange developer, and Globokas, the Peruvian multibank payment network, announced a partnership to expand immediate payment systems in Peru. 

🇲🇽 Yuno, the Colombian payment orchestration platform, and Openpay, BBVA's digital payment company in Mexico, announced a partnership to enhance e-commerce transactions for businesses of all sizes. 

📜 Policy

🇧🇷 Urbano Bank, from the H&P Group, and Stark Bank, both Brazilian financial tech companies, were authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil as financial institution and payment initiators, respectively.  

📰 Other News 

🇧🇷 Vanessa Antunes was named Business Development Vice President at Visa.

🇧🇷 Taís Alvim was named Chief Revenue Officer at Payssego.

🇲🇽 Eden, a company specializing in artificial intelligence for radiology, announced  a $10 million round. The funds, led by international investors, will be used to expand their technology and services globally.

🇲🇽 Kueski, the Mexican fintech company, was recognized on CNBC's World's Top Fintech Companies 2024 list. This accolade highlights Kueski's significant impact and innovation in the fintech industry.

🇵🇪 UTEC Ventures, the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center of the University of Engineering and Technology, announced a new edition of FemLab to promote the participation of women entrepreneurs. This initiative will support women-led startups by providing mentorship, training, and access to a network of investors and industry experts.

📚 Deeper Reads

Amee Parbhoo of Accion Venture Lab on driving global financial inclusion

Luis Barrios of Arkangeles on how to invest in crowdfunding to achieve financial freedom

Here’s what happened in crypto today

Generative AI: A cognitive industrial revolution (ES)

The 10 biggest business risks for the end of the year in LatAm (ES)

📣 LatAm startup alum who have been impacted by layoffs and recruiters looking for top talent, check out the Startups Alumni and Layoffs Brasil databases.  

If you’re looking to hire from a group of 10,000+ smart, motivated fintech professionals, come pick up a Collective Pass and post a job here.  If you’re looking for your next adventure at one of the best fintech companies, check out the open roles here!

Made in LatAm with 💛 by Elena, Daniela, and Lorena

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