Hola amig@s fintech,

We are finally about to hold two TWIF great events in Mexico City during Mexico Tech Week: 

• Tuesday, Oct 22 - Our traditional Fintech Founders & VC Mixer, co-hosted with Ensemblex, Timbi, and BGBG.
• Thursday, Oct 24 - CFOs Connect Dinner, an exclusive dinner for founders, CFOs, and the extended network co-organized with Cobre. 

Do not hesitate to RSVP and enjoy!

You can 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

Mercado Libre (MeLi) is the most valuable firm in Latin America with a market cap of over $100 billion. MeLi's stock has risen 25% this year and 1,600% over the last decade. It dominates the e-commerce industry in Argentina and Venezuela, while Amazon leads in countries like Mexico, Colombia, and Peru. Shopee and Shein are major players in Brazil (Source).

📖  Read of the Week

According to the report "The fintech boom in Mexico will continue in 2025" by Moody’s, the fintech sector in Mexico is expected to keep up its growth, driven by the adoption of innovative financial models and increasing competition with traditional banking. The report highlights that 38.8% of Mexico's GDP comes from private credit, significantly below from other LatAm countries like Brazil (over 50%) and Colombia (40%). Additionally, fintechs offering regulated financial products, such as Sofipos, have captured depositors by offering interest rates as high as 15%, reflecting their growing market presence.

🎙️ Podcast of the Week

💸 Venture Financing

💸 Equity

🇲🇽 Comun, the Mexican digital banking services company for Latinos in the US, raised $21.5 million in a Series A to expand its financial services and continue supporting underbanked consumers in Mexico.

🇧🇷 Telefónica Brasil invested $1.5 million in Agrolend, the agricultural fintech focused on providing financial solutions to the farming sector. The investment was made through Vivo Ventures, Telefónica’s corporate VC fund.

💵 Debt 

🇲🇽 Albo, the Mexican neobank, secured a $60 million line of credit  from the fund SixPoint Capital Management, looking to achieve profitability within the coming months.

💰 Venture funds 

🇲🇽 Kayyak Ventures, the VC firm, announced plans to increase its investment efforts in Mexican entrepreneurship, focusing on early-stage startups across sectors.

🌎 Redwood Ventures, in partnership with Seedstars Capital, raised $200 million to invest in Latin American startups, emphasizing fintech and tech-enabled services.

☯️ Exits

🤝 M&A - Fintech

🇧🇷 Warburg Pincus acquired a $125 million minority stake in Contabilizei, the Brazilian fintech specializing in digital accounting services for SMBs. 

🚀 Product Launches & Partnerships

💻 Fintech 

🇧🇷 Nubank announced the introduction of a new Coupon Hub within its marketplace, offering customers easier access to discounts and cashback from over 150 partner stores. Additionally, Nubank has reduced crypto transaction fees within its app, dropping rates to as low as 0.6%. 

🇲🇽 Price Lab, the Peruvian AI-powered pricing optimization platform, announced its expansion to Mexico to help e-commerce and retailers enhance profitability and accelerate growth. The technology aims to enable dynamic pricing adjustments and competitor monitoring, providing real-time recommendations with a 96% accuracy rate. 

🇲🇽 Ualá, the Argentinian financial ecosystem platform, announced the launch of a new secured credit card in Mexico, targeting unbanked users and those without a credit history. The card, backed by a security deposit, offers an annual return of up to 5% and charges no fees for opening, maintenance, or closure.

🇨🇴 Yuno, the Colombian payment orchestration platform, announced the launch of Monitors, a real-time payment anomaly detection tool. Yuno’s system allows businesses to ensure continuity in their payment processes, minimizing revenue losses during interruptions and increasing operational efficiency.

🇧🇷 E-ctare, the Brazilian agrifintech, announced the launch of a new credit card for agricultural producers, allowing them to make payments only after the harvest. The harvest card addresses the cash flow cycle of farmers, offering extended payment deadlines to align with crop production. 

🌎 Mattilda, the Mexican private education financing startup, and Tapi, the Argentinian payment solutions company, announced an alliance to help parents pay their children schools with neobank solutions. 

🏦 Financial Services & Banking

🌎 PXP Financial, the UK-based global payment processing provider, and Kushki, the Ecuador-based payment platform, announced a partnership to expand its presence in the LatAm market. PXP Financial will offer tailored payment solutions across countries like Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. 

🇧🇷 Dock, the Brazilian payments and banking platform, and Ant International, the Singapore-based digital payments company, announced a partnership aimed to serve underserved segments like MSMEs by improving credit management and infrastructure. 

🇦🇷 Getnet, the payment solutions provider from Grupo Santander, and VTEX, the UK-based global digital commerce platform, announced a partnership to enhance digital payment capabilities for online stores in Argentina, offering Getnet's promotions and advanced checkout features to VTEX customers. 

📜 Policy

🇨🇴 The Colombian Central Bank (Bank of the Republic), announced the launch of BRE-B,  a real-time electronic transfer system designed to improve the speed and efficiency of bank transfers between financial institutions. This initiative is set to enhance the country's digital payments infrastructure, adding traceability and diminishing cash use.

📰 Other News 

🇲🇽 Beatriz Furan was named Country Manager at UNNAX Mexico.

🇲🇽 Maria Jose Rosa was named Head of Brand and Communications at Tiendanube México.

🇧🇷 Valério Zarro was named CFO and CRO at alt.bank.

🌎 Gabriel Yorio Gonzalez was named Vice President for Finance and Administration at the Inter-American Development Bank.

🌎 World (previously Worldcoin), the human verification and defi company with presence in LatAm, announced the expansion of its features: an upgraded high-definition camera - the Orb - to verify humanity, new human verification options, video apps' integration to combat deepfakes, and the enhancement of its mobile app with third-party "mini apps."

🇧🇷 Morada.AI, the Brazilian proptech, raised $1 million to expand its digital real estate services. The platform focuses on simplifying property management for landlords and tenants using technology.

🇲🇽 Jüsto, the Mexican online grocery delivery platform, secured $70 million in equity and debt financing from General Atlantic, HSBC, and others. 

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📚 Deeper Reads

Brazil’s Pix Set to Enhance Recurring Payments Capabilities as Subscription-Based Services Grow

Crossborder banking: the key to the expansion and competitiveness of companies in Latin America (ES)

Cash and digital payment: two sides of the same coin that shape financial life in Mexico (ES)

Can AI make us feel less alone? The founder of Manifest thinks so

Incumbent banks are far from over

📣 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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