Hola amig@s fintech,

We’re grateful to those who joined us for the Colombia Tech Week Fintech Mixer and for the RiskCon Dinner in Mexico City some days ago. We thank our sponsors and partners Oscilar, CFX Network, and Timbi, for making these community events successful. 

The event’s season continues, and our next stop is at the FINNOSUMMIT 2024 week at the end of the month. Don’t forget that you get a 20% discount as a TWIF paid subscriber, just email us at latam@thisweekinfintech.com. Secure your place! 

Here’s the list of our upcoming Mexico City events: 

• September 24 - Fintech Talks @Finnosummit by TWIF, Accion, Niva, BGBG & CFX Network. 
• September 25 - Happy Hour by TWIF & Ripple
• September 26 - Fintech Breakfast by TWIF & CFC Network
• October 22 - Fintech Founders, Operators & VCs Mixer by Ensemblex, Timbi & BGBG

RSVP now! Spots are limited. 

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

Since 2018, LatAm has seen a significant rise in AI startups, with Brazil leading the region and accounting for 40% of the new AI companies. Mexico follows with 25%, while Argentina and Chile contribute 15% and 10%, respectively. The region's AI growth is driven by advancements in finance, healthcare, and agriculture. (Source)

📖  Read of the Week

The study "The political, psychological, and social correlates of cryptocurrency ownership" published in the magazine PLOS ONE, suggests that individuals who hold crypto may exhibit higher tendencies towards risk-taking behaviors and a lack of empathy, and non-mainstream political views. 

🦉 Post of the Week

🎙️ Podcast of the Week

💸 Venture Financing

💸 Equity

🇧🇷 Neon, the Brazilian digital account solutions platform, raised $90 millions in a Series E round in two tranches: December 2023 and August 2024. No further details were given.

🇨🇴 Cobre, the Colombian treasury platform, raised $35 million in a Series B round led by Oak HC/FT, and with the participation of Kaszek, QED and Canary.

💰 Venture funds 

🇨🇱 Manutara Ventures, the Chilean-Miami VC fund, is starting to structure a third fund after three successful exits this year.

☯️ Exits

🤝 M&A - Fintech

🇨🇴 Rappi announced the acquisition of Fountain9, the Indian AI-driven supply chain solutions platform. This acquisition aims to enhance Rappi’s inventory management and operational efficiency for its Turbo delivery service. Fountain9's team and IP will be integrated into Rappi, marking the Colombian company's expansion into India. No further details of the transaction were disclosed.

🚀 Product Launches & Partnerships

💻 Fintech 

🇲🇽 CoinFlip, the US-based crypto ATM provider, announced it has expanded its operations to Mexico, launching kiosks that allow users to buy and sell crypto with cash. This marks the company’s eighth international market.

🇧🇷 Conta Simples, the Brazilian corporate expense and credit card management platform, announced the launch of a B2B BNPL solution. The new feature will allow businesses to pay suppliers upfront via Pix, boleto, or TED, with up to 30 days or the option to pay in credit card installments. 

🇲🇽 Sumametros, the digital real estate investment platform by Be Grand and Briq, announced a solution for users to invest in property starting from 1 square meter. Investors can earn monthly rental income and use the accumulated meters as a down payment for an entire property or sell them on the platform. 

🇦🇷 Cocos, the Argentine financial solutions platform, announced the launch of Cocos Pay, a payment app allowing users to pay directly with MEP dollars or pesos via QR codes in stores. This solution aims to offer access to users' investments without the need for prior money transfers. 

🇵🇪 Ligo, the Peruvian digital wallet, and Plin, the Peruvian digital payment platform, announced a partnership to allow users to send and receive funds to Plin and Yape wallets without needing a bank account. 

🇵🇪 Yape, the Peruvian digital payment platform, announced the launch of YapePOS, a Tap to Phone solution that enables small businesses to accept credit and debit card payments using only their mobile phones as POS terminals. 

🏦 Financial Services & Banking

🇨🇴 Milio, the Colombian embedded finance platform, announced the launch of a real-time card-to-card transfer system in partnership with Visa and Banco Coopcentral. This service aims to allow users to send and receive funds instantly, without traditional banking limitations, offering an alternative to platforms like Transfiya. 

📜 Policy

🇲🇽 The Mexican financial regulatory agency (CNBV) revealed that financial institutions are delaying cybersecurity incident reporting, posing risks to financial stability.

🇧🇷 Vivo Pay, the Brazilian financial platform from the telecom company, was authorized by the Central Bank to operate as direct credit society. 

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📰 Other News 

🇨🇴 Juanita Rodríguez Kattah was named Country Manager at Bitso for Colombia.

🇨🇴 Sebastián Bezzo was named VP of Revenue at Simetrik for LatAm.

🇲🇽 John Somorjai was named Board of Directors at Incode Technologies.

🌎 Latin American entrepreneurs convened to discuss strategies for regional growth, aiming to foster collaboration and innovation among startups.

🇲🇽 Covalto, the leading digital banking for SMEs, achieved its third consecutive upgrade in counterparty risk rating, reflecting enhanced financial stability and improved operational performance.

🇨🇴 Insurama, Spain-based insurtech, received $5.5 million in funding from BBVA Spark to facilitate its expansion into Colombia. 

🇲🇽 BBVA Mexico launched a new nearshoring unit in Houston to facilitate business expansion and improve cross-border financial services between the U.S. and Mexico.

🇲🇽 The number of credit cards in Mexico exceeded 35.5 million, highlighting an increase in consumer credit reliance.

📚 Deeper Reads

The impact of the new open finance regulations in Chile 

Argentina's opportunities to improve its access to credit (ES)

The triad of the Colombian fintech ecosystem (ES)

The importance of women's participation in the Mexican economy (ES)

What’s The Most Difficult CEO Skill? Managing Your Own Psychology

The secret sauce of Stripe’s success

📣 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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