Ep. 14: - Welbe & Konfío raise new rounds; microTerra joins the WEF; Credijusto gives birth to Covalto Bank; and more.
Welcome to Scenius Mexico: Your weekly newsletter on technology, innovation, and startups in Mexico.
Another HealthTech is raising its seed round this week. While all of them are still in very early stage development, we should witness some HealthTech startups getting a boost very soon with follow-up rounds.
The Lending FinTech Konfío has unlocked a new credit facility to invest in the southern states of Mexico and women-led SMBs; a very nice initiative to bring more gender and location equity to Mexico.
Village Capital and Moody partner to launch a new Accelerator in LatAm focused on bringing innovative solutions to the growing middle-class. Local accelerators are more than welcome to boost the region's tech & startup ecosystems.
Funding Rounds
Healthtech Welbe raises a US$3 million Seed round
Welbe is an HealthTech that offers companies a comprehensive health program for their workers. The platform integrates all clinical history in one place and gives patients access to this information while allowing doctors to make more effective and efficient diagnoses.
With this funding, the team wants to improve its product, hire new talent and expand its network of doctors, aiming to reach 100,000 active users by the end of the year.
The Startup was founded by two Brazilians with 20 years of experience in Mexico between them. While hiring and managing hundreds of workers, they realized the need for a 360° wellness program that complies with local laws related to occupational health and founded Welbe in 2021.
Sector: HealthTech - Private Healthcare
Total Raised: US$3 million
Founders: Marcus Paiva, Eduardo Medeiros Cardoso
Investors: Nazca, Marathon Ventures, H20
Konfío adds a US$ 10 million credit facility from Citibanamex, DFC, and Ford
Mexico’s fourth unicorn will use the funds to focus on the states located in the south of the country - Chiapas, Guerrero, Michoacán, Oaxaca, Puebla, Tabasco, Tlaxcala, and Veracruz.
Furthermore, the Startup will dedicate more than 50% of its credit facility to women-led SMBs, in line with its mission to foster gender equity.
The Startup is primarily an SMB lender that specializes in extending credit to companies that are often inadequately served by legacy financial institutions (FIs). Aside from its core mission of SMB lending, the company has expanded to become an all-in-one platform for SMB solutions, financial services, and business management.
Sector: FinTech - Lending
Total Raised: US$696 million - including debt
Founders: David Arana, Francisco Padilla
Investors: Lightrock, SoftBank, VEF, Kaszek, IFC, Tarsadia Capital, QED
Startup News
microTerra is joining the World Economic Forum(WEF) Technology Pioneers 2022 list
The startup developed an aquatic plant named Lemna, whose technology can clean water while producing a functional ingredient for the plant-based food industry.
By joining this community, the team begins a two-year journey where they will be part of the World Economic Forum’s initiatives, workshops, activities, and events. The 2022 cohort will join a group of alumni that include names such as Airbnb, Google, Kickstarter, Mozilla, Spotify, TransferWise, and Twitter.
Mercado Pago gets the green light to operate as an IFPE
The IFPE (Institución de Fondos de Pago Electrónico) is part of the FinTech regulation process in Mexico and will allow the company to broaden its financial products and open accounts under its own name.
Lately, the CNBV has been accelerating the pace at which it is granting the IFPE (Electronics Payment Funds Institutions) and IFC (Collective Financing Institutions) status to Mexican FinTech.
VC - Accelerators - M&A News
Village Capital and Moody are partnering to launch a new Accelerator in LatAm
This program will support eight to ten startups that are working to create pathways for Latin America’s middle class and to improve economic mobility. Applications opened on April 25th and will close on June 25th.
The startups that apply must be legally incorporated as a for-profit entity, be less than 5 years old, and have less than $1M in annual revenue.
The selected entrepreneurs will meet in three online workshops and one in-person workshop from August through October 2022. Also, one founder or C-suite member of the startup will access an all-expenses paid trip to Mexico City, where they will interact with one of Latin America’s biggest ecosystems.
CreditJusto's acquisition of Finterra Bank gives birth to Covalto Ltd in Mexico
Following a long process of revision from the local regulator (Condusef), the Mexican Stock Exchange (CNBV) officially announced the closing of the deal.
CrediJusto provides an online platform for business loans. It offers various loans, including inventory financing, equipment financing, debt financing, and working capital. With this acquisition, the Startup will now offer banking services too.
With a war chest of US$400 million raised from the likes of Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Point72 Ventures, Kaszek, and QED, this operation was the first time that a LatAm FinTech bought a traditional bank. It has since been followed by the Argentinian Startup Ualá acquiring ABC Capital.