$32.8 million in fintech funding (equity and debt)

Hola amig@s fintech,

International Women's Day was on March 8th, and we want to acknowledge the dynamic landscape of women in the financial tech sector across Latin America. According to experts, women are making significant strides as leaders in our industry, which is experiencing substantial growth. Women have played an integral role in its success. Notably, in 2019, fintech companies received 31% of the region's venture capital, and over 35% of new Latin American fintech startups boast female founders. So, let's keep on thriving and being recognized!

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!

• Lorena

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📊 Stat of the Week

In Mexico, women hold a mere 29% of leadership roles, which falls below the Latin American average of 32%. Despite this disparity, there has been an improvement, with their representation increasing by 1.2% since 2016 (Source).

📖  Read of the Week

“Essential statistics on women in finance” shows that even if women make up 46% of the total workforce in the financial services industry, their representation in leadership roles is notably low. Specifically, they only hold 25% of leadership positions and merely 10.8% of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) positions among Fortune 500 companies.

💸 Venture Financing

💸 Equity

🇨🇴  Yuno, the Colombian payments platform, raised a $25 million Series A round, with participation of DST Global Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Tiger Global, Kaszek Ventures, and Monashees.

🇧🇷 FinanZero, the Brazilian credit marketplace, raised $4 millions from the Brazilian fund 4Equity. 

🇨🇴 Kravata, the Colombian payments for businesses’ startup, raised $3.6 millions led by Volt Capital, Framework Ventures, and Circle Ventures.

🇧🇷 Trampay, the Brazilian app for delivery workers, raised a $250,000 in a pre-Seed round from Potência Ventures’ program UP, with the participation of Cedro Capital and angel investors.

☯️ Exits

🤝 M&A - Fintech

🌎 Infinity Capital, the Dubai-based cybersecurity and blockchain firm, announced the acquisition of Andro, the Colombian stablecoin protection company. No further details were disclosed. 

🌎 Nayax, the Israeli payment and loyalty company for commerce, announced the acquisition of VMtecnologia, the Brazilian self-service solutions developer, at an enterprise value of $22 million. The M&A is expected to be completed by H2 2024.

🚀 Product Launches & Partnerships

💻 Fintech 

🇵🇾 The INDERT, the Paraguayan National Institute for Rural and Land Development, partnered with Grupo Fintech Inversiones, the Paraguayan group of financial tech companies, to introduce a electronic payment method.

🇲🇽 XY Booster, the platform developer, announced the launch of Tacolovers, an app that will offer credit to people making and cooking tacos in Mexico. 

🌎 Revolut, the UK-based financial services platform, announced a $100 cash-back offer for converting $1,000 in a single transaction, aiming to expand its recent presence in Brazil. 

🌎 Metamask, the San Francisco-based crypto wallet, expanded its services to LatAm, integrating with the local payment systems of Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile, and Argentina.  

🏦 Financial Services & Banking

🇧🇷 Telefônica Brasil (VIVT3), the Brazilian telecom company, announced it will expand its credit and fintech solutions with its Central Bank license, transitioning to a lower-risk lending model than personal loans.

📜 Policy

🇦🇷 Members of the International Financial Action Group demanded during a visit to Argentina that authorities regulate crypto providers and their services. 

🇧🇷 The Central Bank of Brazil released its regulatory priorities for 2024, within which it includes topics such as open finance, BaaS, tokenization, financial assets, AI, foreign exchange and international capitals, among others.  

📰 Other News 

🇧🇷 Mario Guernelli was named General Director at Edenred pay Brazil. 

🇲🇽 Matias Nuñez was named General Director at Openbank Mexico.

🇧🇷 Andre Chaves was named Fintech Business Manager at Mercado Libre Brazil.

🇨🇱 Maria Fernanda Juppet, CEO at CryptoMKT, a Chilean cryptocurrency exchange, won the category "Excellence in financial leadership, fintech and startups" within the framework of the FiNext Dubai 2024 event.

🇸🇻 SOSTENGO, the Salvadorian automotive insurance app, raised $3.8 millions in a funding round to expand digital insurance solutions.

🇧🇷 Bluecyber.insure, the Brazilian insurtech specialized in cyber insurance, raised $1.5 millions.

🌎 BBVA Technology, the tech services division of BBVA, launched operations in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

🌎 Visa and GSMA Mobile for Development Foundation launched the “Digital Finance for All” initiative to promote digital financial inclusion in low and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia and LatAm.

📚 Deeper Reads

What are the biggest competitive threats to banks out there today… could it be the regulator?

Unlocking tomorrow: the revolution of embedded finance 

Amplifica Capital, the fund that invites more women to exercise their economic power (ES)

How General AI will drive a more inclusive financial sector in LatAm (ES)

What are data and payment APIs in Open Banking? (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 and Lorena

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