Unbanked to Unleashed: Fintech's LATAM Revolution
RapiCredit's USD $7M investment, Nubank's 90M customers milestone, Chile's crypto compliance, and emerging startups shaping the region's financial future.
Welcome to our weekly newsletter covering the latest news and trends in the Latin American Fintech startup scene.
Fintech faces the challenge of protecting users in LATAM
A few days ago, Colombian fintech RapiCredit secured a USD$7 million debt investment from the U.S. fund Almavest. This company acquired part of the debt accumulated by the startup.
RapiCredit specializes in providing microcredits to individuals without access to banking services.
The fintech has provided credit opportunities to over 550,000 unbanked Colombians, and 36% of them become eligible to enter the traditional financial system after obtaining a loan from the company.
This type of fintech and its business model has been successful throughout Latin America, becoming a real opportunity for people without bank credit through these startups.
Vía Contxto
Quick News
Fintech Astride obtains BRL $3 million to boost investments
Astride received an investment of BRL $3 million from family, friends, and angel investors to enhance its technology and expand its operations in the country.
Astride decided to intensify its presence in Brazil.
The company helps investors establish and maintain offshore companies to manage their investments outside of Brazil.
According to information from B3, the Brazilian stock exchange, the number of individual accounts registered almost doubled during the first year of the pandemic, adding 1.5 million new investors. (Contxto)
In the third quarter of 2023, Nubank revealed outstanding financial results, reporting record revenues of USD $2.1 billion. Net income reached USD $303 million, with an adjusted net income of USD $356 million.
According to Nubank’s founder and CEO, David Vélez, the company reached 90 million customers in October.
The cost per customer remained below the dollar level, and the efficiency ratio improved by 40 basis points in the quarter, reaching 35%.
in Mexico, the customer base grew to 4.3 million, driven by the success of the Cuenta Nu savings product and the member-get-member program. In Colombia, the customer base expanded to around 800,000, anticipating accelerated growth with the launch of Cuenta Nu. (Contxto)
Chile approves the OECD Crypto Asset Information Framework (CARF) to strengthen fiscal transparency
In Chile, the Ministry of Finance announced the approval of the Crypto Asset Information Framework (CARF) by the OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs.
This new standard responds to the growing digitization of financial markets and the rise of crypto assets, aiming to preserve advances in global fiscal transparency.
The CARF, based on the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), aims to facilitate its implementation in various jurisdictions and tax administrations.
The Ministry of Finance reported that several countries and territories signed the commitment agreement to the OECD, including Armenia, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Spain, and the United States. (Contxto)
RapiCredit raised USD $7 million in debt investment
RapiCredit, specializing in providing microloans to individuals without access to banking services, has secured a USD $7 million debt investment from the U.S. fund Almavest.
This firm acquired part of the debt accumulated by the fintech.
RapiCredit has provided credit opportunities to more than 550 thousand unbanked Colombians, with 36% becoming eligible to enter the traditional financial system after obtaining a loan from the company.
RapiCredit has a profitability of 18%, equivalent to a financial margin of COP $4.5 million. (Contxto)
Hapi raises USD $1.6 million to democratize the stock market in LatAm
The emerging company Hapi, headquartered in San Francisco with Peruvian roots, has secured significant funding of USD $1.6 million to strengthen its presence in the Latin American stock market.
This fundraising involved participation from various investment entities, including Utec Ventures, Unpopular Ventures, Softeq Ventures, and Mural Capital.
The primary commitment of Hapi is to facilitate and make stock market investment more accessible for the people of Latin America.
Hapi is an application focused on purchasing and selling stocks in the U.S. stock market, specifically designed for clients in Latin America. (Contxto)
Impact of Milei’s victory in Argentina on the crypto exchange rate
The triumph of Javier Milei in the presidential elections in Argentina generated a significant increase in the quotation of the crypto dollar, which experienced a rise of $160, reaching $1150.
This increase is attributed to speculation about the possible dollarization of the Argentine economy, a proposal highlighted by the president-elect during the campaign.
The rise of the crypto dollar generated expectations of pressure on parallel currencies for Tuesday’s exchange day, while on Monday, as it was a holiday, the expectation of devaluation was contained. (Contxto)
Ripio drives Web3 innovation with nine startups selected for its acceleration program in LatAm
Ripio announces its Web3 acceleration program in Latin America, highlighting startups from Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay among the selected.
After evaluating 70 projects from 12 countries, Trexx, a Brazilian startup dedicated to blockchain-based games, has been among the nine selected in the program’s inaugural edition. In this next step, Ripio will provide mentorship and support for implementing LaChain technology in Trexx’s game development project.
The other eight startups selected in this program are diverse projects such as the CryptoPagos, Fungi Protocol, Paydece, Latam Wap Dex, Simple Pago, Ultradrop and Talo Pay.
Ripio has established itself as one of Latin America’s leading crypto-asset platforms, with a user base exceeding 2 million and a monthly transaction volume exceeding USD $200 million. (Contxto)
Global66 and FC Bayern Munich seek Latin American talent in an initiative for young footballers
Global66 and FC Bayern Munich launch an initiative for young Latin American footballers. They offer a unique opportunity to train in Munich, combining sports and technology to enhance talents.
The goal is to identify standout talents among participants and select a team of 11 members who will have the unique opportunity to travel to Munich in March 2024 to train with the youth team of FC Bayern Munich.
The collaboration between Global66 and Bayern Munich aims to impact Latin American youth by combining sports and technology.
To participate, aspirants must create a TikTok video of up to one minute, showcasing their football skills and using the hashtags #global66 and #YourTalentIsGlobal while tagging the TikTok account @Global_66. After posting the video, they must register on tutalentoesglobal.com, complete the registration form, and include the link to their video. (Contxto)
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Food for Thought
Fintech vs. Banks in Mexico: Who Wins in 2024? Predictions from an Investor, Adriana Saman
In this interview Adriana Saman, investment director at Clocktower Technology Ventures, explains how to start a fintech in 2024, how to start a fintech in Mexico and what is the ideal business model in the sector.
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