$138 million in fintech funding (equity and debt)

Hola amig@s fintech,

The Fintech Mexico Forum 2024 was a resounding success, bringing together over 1400+ participants, 50+ speakers, and 80+ sponsors and partners. Congratulations to Fintech Mexico for orchestrating this impactful event, the first of many to come. The discussions spanned various pertinent topics, not only within our industry—neobanks, payments, digital assets, open finance, credits, and cross-border payments—but also delved into broader themes like digitalization, tech regulation, ethics, and financial inclusion. The key takeaway: our collective strength lies in robust discussions, constructive debates, and a willingness to listen to diverse opinions.

Personally, I found immense value in hearing from diverse speakers, connecting with individuals I greatly admire, and departing with the conviction that our industry not only influences lives but is poised for sustained growth through collaborative efforts.

We look forward to FINNOSUMMIT Connect 2024 which will take place from March 4 to 7 in Cancún. 

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

For 2024, 79% of payments will be made through alternative payment solutions, gaining a strong positioning over traditional payment methods (Source)

📖  Read of the Week

Fintech Mexico and NTT Data presented "The trends that will set the course of fintech in Mexico by 2024", a study projecting the fintech sector as the main catalyst for financial inclusion. It highlights the positive impact  of DeFi, Web3, AI, and the potential of collaborative economy as  growth strategy that will benefit the entire fintech sector.

🎙️ Podcast of the Week

🦉 Post of the Week

💸 Venture Financing

💸 Equity

🇲🇽 YoFio, the Mexican immediate lending platform for micro businesses, raised $10 million in an equity and debt Seed round led by Oikocredit, with the participation of 500 Global, Innogen Capital, G2 Fintech Fund, and Cauris Finance.

🇨🇱 Pulsar, the Chilean SaaS company, raised $8 million led by Cometa and with the participation of Seaya Cathay Latam, Kayyak Ventures and Arca Ventures. 

💵 Debt 

🇲🇽 Baubap, the Mexican micro-lending platform, secured $120 million of debt financing in a pre Series A round from the SixPoint Capital Management fund. 

💰 Venture funds 

🇲🇽 Addem Capital, the Mexican structured debt fund, announced the launch of Utopia II, its new fund that will focus on ESG and will have an impact methodology in its investments. 

🇨🇴 Pygma, the Colombian early stage accelerator firm, launches its first fintech acceleration fund focused on US and Latam companies. 

☯️ Exits

🤝 M&A - Fintech

🇲🇽 Ziff, the Mexican credit solutions platform, announced the acquisition of Arrenda, the Mexican revenue-based financing platform. Ziff aims to deploy over $59 million in liquidity over the next three years, enhancing its financial platform with Arrenda's technology. No further details were disclosed.

🚀 Product Launches & Partnerships

💻 Fintech 

🇵🇪 Yape, the Peruvian enterprise-focused wallet, announced the launch of "Yape Empresa," a specialized version integrated into its app catering exclusively to businesses, aimed at simplifying customer payments and vendor transactions in day-to-day operations.

🇲🇽 inDrive, the US-based ride-share financial services platform, and R2, the Mexican embedded lending platform, announced a partnership to provide loans and credit cards to drivers in Mexico.This move marks inDrive's inaugural foray into financial offerings.

🏦 Financial Services & Banking

🇧🇷 Motorola announced a partnership with Jazz Tech, the Brazilian financial solutions platform, and Banco Arbi, the Brazilian financial institution, to introduce Visa credit cards integrated with its digital account. 

📜 Policy

🇧🇷 PagHiper, the Brazilian Pix and bank slips for e-commerce company, was authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil to operate as a payment institution.

🇧🇷 The Brazilian Central Bank published the Open Finance API Handbook Version 5.0, which is mandatory for all participant institutions. This revokes the 2022 regulation. 

🇲🇽 Pago ConFiado, the Mexican financial platform for migrants, was authorized by the Mexican financial regulatory authority as an electronic payment funds institution under the Fintech Law. 

🇲🇽 Hey Banco, the Mexican digital bank, was authorized by the Ministry of Finance as part of Banregio Grupo Financiero.  

🇨🇴 The Colombian Central Bank revealed plans to launch an immediate payment system in May 2025, enabling users to conduct real-time transfers across different institutions. 

🌎 akaunt, the Colombian dollar-saving app, was authorized by Bermuda’s monetary authority as the first regulated fintech company. 

📰 Other News 

🇧🇷 Francisco Ferreira was named the new president of the Brazilian Digital Credit Association.

🇨🇴 smartBeemo, the Colombian CommerceTech platform for Latinos, raised $6 million in a pre Series A round, with the participation of Redwood Ventures, New Ventures (Fondation Botnar), Simma Capital, Impact Ventures PSM, RGMA Holdings de Multifamily EPC, and Angelhub. The round was divided between $2.5 million in equity and $3.5 million in debt.

🇨🇴 Colombia Fintech organized the first edition of "Payments for Financial Inclusion" with the participation of Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the United Nations on Financial Inclusion for Development (UNSGSA), highlighting that the number of people who have access to the formal financial sector has doubled in  the last 10 years.

🇧🇷 Housi, a Brazilian startup focused on property management, raised $10 millions led by Redpoint eventures and TM3 Capital, Açolab Ventures, the CVC leg of ArcelorMittal, also participated.

🌎 AWS will invest $5 billion in Mexico to build its new infrastructure region in the country, which will be deployed over the next 15 years and will drive the adoption of cloud computing.

📚 Deeper Reads

The impact of women in crypto leadership

Exploring the Ascendance of Corporate Giants: Charting the Intricacies of Venture Capital

Aggregators: solid Fintech link (ES)

US$ 85.4 billion: the key figure for the crypto business in Argentina (ES)

From start to finish: The role of financial inclusion in credit (ES)

What to expect from Pix in 2024: Open Finance, Pix Automatic and smart transfers (PO)

📣 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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