Colombia's Startup Moment
Ep.126: Gopass raises $8 million, Finaktiva secures $10 million, Nufi raises $1.5 million, and more!
Your weekly newsletter on technology, startups, and VCs in Spanish-speaking Latin America.
Colombia’s position in Latin America’s startup scene is shifting from promising ecosystem to strategic player. This week, most news stories underscored the country’s growing importance not only in fintech but also in the infrastructure layer underpinning regional innovation.
From financing rounds like Gopass’s US$8 million Series A extension and Finaktiva’s US$10 million loan from BBVA Spark, to Blend360’s acquisition of Nuvu to establish Colombia as its primary AI operations hub in Latin America, and Ticketmaster’s merger with eTicket to offer a comprehensive ticketing solution, Colombia was at the center of the region’s most significant moves.
If funding shows confidence and acquisitions show intent, then this week made one thing clear: Colombia is strengthening its position in the Latin American startup scene.
Follow The Money
🇨🇴 Gopass raises a US$8 million bridge round
Colombian mobility fintech Gopass has raised an additional US$8 million in a bridge round, following its US$15 million Series A in 2023. This latest funding includes investments from Qualcomm Ventures and Spain’s Kfund, marking both firms' first ventures into Colombia. Gopass is a mobility fintech offering a comprehensive digital platform designed to streamline various transportation-related payments. The capital will be used to expand Gopass’s coverage and develop new technological solutions for users and businesses, particularly in the freight and passenger transport sectors. In 2024, the company experienced a 300% growth compared to 2023, ending the year with over 500,000 registered users and 650,000 vehicles on its platform. Looking ahead, Gopass plans to continue its expansion, with a focus on entering the Mexican market.
Sector: Mobility
Founders: Jorge Miguel Camacho, Felipe Ochoa Londoño
Investors: Qualcomm Ventures, Kfund
🇨🇴 Finaktiva secures a US$10 million loan
Fintech Finaktiva has secured a US$10 million financing agreement from BBVA Spark to bolster liquidity for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Colombia. This funding will enable Finaktiva to expand its suite of financial products, including factoring, confirming, and loans, and enhance its digital treasury management tools, which facilitate real-time invoice negotiation and payment centralization. In 2024, Finaktiva facilitated over COP$2.4 billion in financing, doubling its previous year's performance and capturing 30% of the Colombian factoring market.
Sector: FinTech
Founders: Pablo Santos
Investors: BBVA Spark
🇲🇽 Nufi raises a US$1.5 million Seed round
Nufi is an identity verification startup developping an AI-driven platform, which enables banks, fintechs, insurers, proptechs, and HR firms to verify identities and validate official documents in under five minutes. Already profitable since 2023, the startup is serving over 330 B2B clients, and aims to expand its national coverage, improve document processing and onboarding products, and continue building a more secure and efficient digital identity ecosystem across Mexico.
Sector: Identity Tech
Founders: Hans Villa, Ilich Núñez
Investors: GPCompas, Magma Partners, Semilla Ventures, Ganas Ventures, Techstars Follow Up Fund, AngelHub
Startups News
Mercado Pago launches Meli Dólar
Mercado Pago has launched its dollar-pegged stablecoin, Meli Dólar, in Chile, following its earlier rollouts in Brazil and Mexico. Developed in partnership with crypto firm Ripio, Meli Dólar enables users to buy, hold, and sell the stablecoin directly within the Mercado Pago app using Chilean pesos, without incurring transaction fees. The stablecoin is designed to offer a stable store of value, particularly useful in economies with currency volatility. This initiative aims to democratize access to digital dollars and expand the use of cryptocurrencies in everyday transactions across Latin America.
Bitso Business launches Euro Ramps
Bitso Business has introduced Euro Ramps, a new feature designed to streamline cross-border payments between Europe and Latin America. This initiative enables European companies to convert euros into cryptocurrencies, such as USDC, and transfer them to Latin America, where they can be exchanged for local currencies like Mexican pesos or Brazilian reais. By leveraging blockchain technology, Bitso aims to reduce transaction costs and settlement times, providing a more efficient alternative to traditional banking systems.
VC - M&A News
🇲🇽 Mexico new Trust-Tech Fund
Círculo de Crédito, a Mexican credit information startup, and investment firm Seedstars have launched the Trust-Tech Fund to support early-stage startups focused on digital trust technologies in Latin America. The fund aims to address challenges in identity verification, fraud prevention, and credit risk assessment by investing in solutions such as biometric validation, AI-driven fraud detection, and the use of alternative data for underserved populations. Selected startups will receive capital, tailored acceleration programs, mentorship from global experts, and integration opportunities with Círculo de Crédito's infrastructure.
🇨🇱 Carsales acquires startup Autofact
Autofact, a Chilean startup specializing in vehicle history reports and automotive data solutions, has been acquired by Australian automotive giant Carsales, after previously receiving an investment from the company in 2020. Autofact provides users detailed vehicle histories and has grown significantly by expanding operations to countries such as Mexico, Colombia, and Peru. The acquisition allows Carsales to leverage Autofact's regional market expertise and further consolidate its presence in Latin America, particularly enhancing services that enable safer, data-driven transactions for car buyers and dealers.
🇨🇴 Blend360 acquires Colombian startup Nuvu
Blend360, a U.S.-based data science and artificial intelligence company, has acquired Colombian firm Nuvu with the goal of turning Colombia into its main hub for operations across Latin America. Nuvu, which specializes in the development of digital and AI-based products, brings local expertise and a strong client base, offering Blend360 a platform to scale its operations while delivering tailored solutions to regional enterprises. The acquisition also includes plans to grow the local team from 120 to 1,000 and integrate Nuvu’s capabilities into Blend360’s global offering.
🇨🇴 Ticketmaster merge with eTicket
Ticketmaster has officially launched operations in Colombia, aiming to enhance the country's live entertainment ticketing landscape. The global ticketing leader, which sold over 500 million tickets worldwide in 2024, will integrate with eTicket, a local platform that will cease operations as part of the merger. This strategic move allows Ticketmaster to offer its technology to the Colombian market, catering to the growing demand for concerts, festivals, theater, and sports events. The company plans to provide a comprehensive ticketing solution encompassing the entire entertainment value chain, including sports leagues, music festivals, and theatrical productions.
Expansion Plans
🇨🇱 ZeroQ is expanding into Peru and Colombia
Chilean startup ZeroQ is expanding into Peru and Colombia with its AI-driven queue management solutions aimed at eliminating physical lines in customer service environments. Having established a presence in over 13 industries in Chile with more than 360 clients in sectors such as healthcare, education, and pharmacy chains. In Colombia, the startup entered the market and is actively building its client base. The team aims to surpass US$4 million in annual recurring revenue this year.
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Abrazo,
Arnaud
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