Finance Unchained: Fintech's Leap Forward in Inclusion and Innovation
From Krealo's investment in Plurall to cutting-edge solutions in financial inclusion, fraud prevention, and digital payments.
Welcome to our weekly newsletter covering the latest news and trends in the Latin American Fintech startup scene.
Krealo invests in Plurall, the innovative Colombian fintech focused on financial inclusion
Krealo, the Corporate Venture Capital arm of the financial giant Grupo Credicorp, has strengthened its investment portfolio with a new acquisition: the fintech Plurall, based in Colombia. This move marks Krealo’s ninth regional investment, underscoring its active strategy and interest in promising startups.
Plurall is not your average startup. It aims to promote financial inclusion for entrepreneurs from various sectors, providing them with essential tools for their growth. This includes access to flexible microloans for working capital, a fully digital account, and a debit card with which they can make interest-free transactions.
Krealo’s investment objective is clear: to add strategic value to Grupo Credicorp. They seek to strengthen their current operations, expand into new areas and markets, and simultaneously explore cutting-edge technologies that can lead to future business models.
Vía Contxto
Quick News
Vaas raises USD $2 million to fight financial frauds
The Brazilian startup Vaas, dedicated to developing technologies against financial fraud, raised BRL $10 million (USD $2 million) in a pre-seed round led by ABSeed.
The startup, still in a proof of concept phase with significant companies, plans to launch its blockchain transaction tracking platform next month.
The solution will already track transactions through Pix, but the plan is to develop anti-fraud tools for this type of payment, which has been a primary target of scammers.
For the first time, the startup has attracted institutional investors. In addition to ABSeed, Fuse Capital and Honey Island by 4UM have joined. With the funds, Vaas will implement its market launch strategy and develop new products. (Contxto)
Leroy Merlin and Pefisa launch ‘Leroy Merlin Pay,’ a revolutionary financial platform
Leroy Merlin has allied with Pefisa, the fintech of Pernambucanas, to launch Leroy Merlin Pay, a financial platform designed to assist consumers throughout their purchasing process.
This tool consolidates information, allowing users to view their invoices and limits, make advance payments, carry out transfers like Pix, and more.
Additionally, loans, insurance, and investments can be requested, and access to a loyalty program is granted.
Similarly, the Celebre card has been introduced, tailored to various buyer profiles. Depending on the shape, there are different cards with specialized packages and payment options in up to 10 interest-free installments. (Contxto)
The Mexican fintech Axify secures a USD $1.3 million investment for its expansion
The fintech industry in Mexico continues to evolve and adapt to the changing needs of consumers. One of the most recent innovations comes from Axify, a startup introducing a “buy now, pay later” model, a formula revolutionizing the world of digital payments.
Axify has successfully raised an investment of USD $1.3 million from Alpha Impact 8 and Avalancha Ventures.
Axify platform has integrated with an impressive network of 44,000 convenience stores in Mexico.
The team behind Axify remains proactive. They currently have a particular interest in delving deeper into the retail industry. (Contxto)
Verqor raises USD$7.5 million to digitize the agricultural sector
Verqor, a Mexican fintech startup that digitizes the agricultural sector in Mexico, managed to raise USD$7.5 million, of which USD$4 million is part of a pre-Series A round led by Yara Growth Ventures.
Accion Venture Lab, SP Ventures, Glocal, and Amplifica Capital also participated in this round. The startup also secured an additional USD $3.5 million in debt financing from Co_Capital and Addem Capital.
Verqor provides cashless loans to farmers to purchase the supplies they need for cultivation, such as fertilizers, agrochemicals, and organics; 55% of users access credit for the first time.
Verqor’s financing allows farmers to cover up to 90% of their costs, improving the quality of products and increasing their income in each cycle. (Contxto)
Paradox Ventures: first private equity fund for fintech
In Mexico, the launch of Paradox Ventures, the first private investment fund dedicated to fintech companies with a conscious focus, was announced and promoted.
These startups are dedicated to eliminating the barriers that affect social and economic growth in Latin America
This initiative by Valderrama arises in the midst of a significant decrease in investments.
Armando Betancourt, Strategic Venture Partner at Paradox Ventures, emphasized that this fund represents a new model characterized by its social, sustainable focus and support from advanced technologies like blockchain and artificial intelligence. (Contxto)
Venture capital funds invest USD $308 million in the cryptocurrency sector
During October, venture capital funds invested USD $307.68 million in cryptocurrency startups.
This amount is 12.8% lower than the total invested in September and just above the three-year minimum recorded in August. The data is according to information from DefiLlama.
Most investments were directed towards projects creating infrastructure solutions in the blockchain industry, receiving USD $153.8 million.
Blockaid, a startup specialized in Web3 protocol security, had two rounds in October and raised USD $33 million from venture capital firms, making it the infrastructure-focused project that received the most investments in that month. (Contxto)
The recent report from Finnovista, an innovation and venture capital firm specializing in the Fintech field of Latin America, in collaboration with Visa, has shed new light on the Fintech landscape in Argentina.
According to the Finnovista Fintech Radar 2023, the sector has seen a significant increase in new projects, especially those offering tools for effective wealth management and investment.
From the data collected, the emergence of 154 additional initiatives this year stands out, reflecting that nearly half of the country’s startups are in a growth and expansion phase, with a notable rise in cryptocurrency-related platforms.
The report also highlights that the Wealth Management segment has consolidated as the leader within the Argentine Fintech ecosystem, with growth exceeding 80%. (Contxto)
QI Tech achieves historic USD $200 million investment round
The Brazilian startup QI Tech has completed a historic and valuable Series B funding round, making waves worldwide.
QI Tech, a company that provides technological infrastructure for B2B financial solutions, secured a USD $200 million investment led by General Atlantic.
Although the new valuation has not been disclosed, it is estimated that QI Tech has likely become a ‘unicorn,’ which means it has surpassed the $1 billion mark or more.
QI Tech has developed its own technology in various solutions for corporate clients, such as credit issuance, banking services, and fraud prevention. (Contxto)
Fintech Finkargo raised USD $20 million to strengthen its platform for financing imports in Colombia
Finkargo, a fintech founded by Colombians Tomás Shuk, Santiago Molina, and Andrés Ferrer, which through its platform, finances merchandise purchases of importing companies in Colombia and Mexico, has just raised USD $20 million in a Series A investment round.
This capital injection was led by QED Investors, with the participation of Nazca and previous investors such as Quona, Flybridge, Maya, and ONEVC.
Since its inception in 2021, the company has accessed more than USD $27 million from investors, but also USD $75 million in debt.
Finkargo says these resources will strengthen the company's growth in Mexico by expanding its offering beyond international financing to an integrated suite of trade services for importers: supplier and product sourcing and verification, cargo insurance, foreign exchange management, and trade intelligence data analysis. (Latam Fintech)
Mexican fintech Creze obtains credit line of up to USD $5.7 million from BBVA
Creze, the SME lending platform, announced that it obtained a credit line for up to USD $5.7 million from BBVA Spark, BBVA's financial arm that drives the growth of high-impact companies.
Creze provides credit to SMEs. Ninety percent of these companies do not have access to formal credit in Mexico, drastically inhibiting the country's growth and employment.
The fintech, led by Juan Ahedo and Bernardo Prum, has already granted more than USD $114 million in more than 5 thousand loans to Mexican SMEs.
It has achieved this "thanks to its 100% digital platform that uses artificial intelligence and its innovative risk model that allows it to provide tailored credit for the millions of underserved SMEs. (Tekiosmag)
Fintech Education
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Food for Thought
Open Finance interoperability standards for fintech
One of the panels at Fintech Summit Latam 2023 focused on Open Finance and the interoperability challenges. The "best practices" of countries such as the UK and Brazil, which are leading the way in this area, serve as a basis to encourage and support the search for a common standard that allows interoperability between countries in the region.
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