Ep. 83: it's raining debt - Merama, mattilda, and Fintoc get fresh capital injection
Welcome to Scenius Mexico: Your weekly newsletter on technology, innovation, and startups in Mexico.
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Follow The Money
Merama US$ 80 million credit line
E-commerce Mexican unicorn Merama received a new US$80 million credit line from JP Morgan. The new capital will be used to embrace an omnichannel strategy, both online and physical, to adapt to evolving consumer behaviors. Merama's business units include wellness, beauty, home, babies, and sports. As of the end of 2023, Merama reported over US$ 600 million in sales across its brands and strong organic growth (per Forbes report), positioning it well to navigate the current e-commerce landscape in Mexico and capitalize on new market opportunities.
Sector: E-commerce Aggregator
Total raised to date: US$525 million Equity + Debt
Founders: Sujay Tyle, Felipe Delgado, Olivier Scialom, Renato Andrade
Investors: JP Morgan, SoftBank, monashees, Valor Capital
Fintoc raised a US$ 7 million Series A to go big on Mexico
The Chilean FinTech funding round aimed at consolidating its presence in Chile and expanding its operations in Mexico, with the goal to make Mexico its primary market. Fintoc provides an API that enables online businesses to accept instant payments directly from customers' bank accounts, an approach known as account-to-account (A2A) payments. This method reduces the number of intermediaries involved in transactions and offers a cheaper alternative to traditional card payments. Fintoc plans to replicate its early success in Chile in Mexico, where the team sees a substantial growth opportunity due to the market's size and the lower penetration of banking services among the population.
Sector: FinTech
Total raised to date: US$10 million
Founders: Cristóbal Griffero, Lukas Zorich
Investors: Monashees, Propel
Mattilda secured an additional US$ 14 million credit line
The startup is specializing in debt management and financing for private schools. This additional US$ 14 million credit line was secured from Addem Capital, raising their total capital from Addem to US$ 24 million. Mattilda addresses financial access challenges faced by the private education sector, historically perceived as volatile by banking institutions. This funding supports various school projects including new classroom construction and acquiring educational technology, thus enhancing the quality of educational services. This comes on top of $29.2 million previously raised in seed and Series A rounds, mainly from funds based in San Francisco and New York.
Sector: FinTech
Total raised to date: US$ 29M Equity + US$ 24M Debt
Founders: José Agote, Adrián Garza, Jesus Lanza, Ileana Gómez
Investors: Addem Capital
Startups News
Mexican unicorn Clara is seeking new financing
The FinTech, that quickly reached a unicorn valuation, is actively seeking new equity and debt financing amid signs of recovery in the venture capital market. Founded in 2021, the startup achieved a US$ 1 billion valuation, supported by a US$ 70 million Series B. Now operating from São Paulo but serving clients in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, Clara has a customer base of over 10,000, a workforce of 330 employees, and is processing about US$ 2 billion annually. CEO Gerry Giacoman Colyer, speaking at the Rio Web Summit, highlighted plans to leverage the new funding to accelerate growth and continue geographic expansion. Clara also aims to further enhance its financial offerings, including a post-payment product that allows a 40-day payment period.
Rappi partners with Amazon
Rappi, the delivery app, has partnered with Amazon Mexico to offer unlimited free deliveries to Amazon Prime members in Mexico. This collaboration allows Prime members to enjoy complimentary access to Rappi Pro membership for 12 months, enhancing their delivery experience for a variety of services including restaurants, supermarkets, and pharmacies. This strategic partnership aligns with Amazon Prime’s similar collaborations in the United States with GrubHub, Canada with Doordash, and the United Kingdom with Deliveroo.
VC - Accelerators News
The "Central America AI Challenge"
The "Central America AI Challenge" has been launched this month by the Central America Angel Fund Initiative (CAFI) in partnership with Google for Startups to promote innovation in Artificial Intelligence across Central America. This initiative aims to celebrate and support startups making a significant impact in Latin America by providing them with a platform to showcase and scale their technological solutions. The winning startup will receive up to US$ 250,000 in cloud infrastructure credits, media coverage, and exclusive consultancy with Google's AI experts to enhance their technology implementation.
Rest of the World
GoFundMe has expanded into Mexico
The international crowdfunding platform has expanded into Mexico, initiating its presence in Latin America. CEO Tim Cadogan highlighted Mexico's economic status and close ties with the United States as key reasons for choosing it as a starting point for regional expansion. This move was also driven by significant user interest and search volumes from Mexico. The country's frequent natural disasters and high healthcare costs present substantial opportunities for GoFundMe. Previously, Mexican-related campaigns were initiated by U.S. users due to geographic limitations, but now locals can directly start fundraisers, particularly for medical emergencies and other crises. This expansion serves as a pilot, with potential plans to extend into other Latin American markets based on the Mexican market's success.
Economy
Mexican companies are actively preparing to go public
According to Raúl Martínez-Ostos, Head of Barclays in Mexico, the activity is spurred by the success of recent listings, as Tienda 3B and Vesta, and a growing interest from global equity investors. He recently told Bloomberg News that up to 10 IPO deals are underway, with potential listings either in Mexico or the United States. As it seems, investors remain confident about the country's economic stability under the potential new government, and perceive Claudia Sheinbaum as more business-friendly than the outgoing president. Investor enthusiasm is also buoyed by the strong performance of the peso and the Mexico’s increasing appeal as a nearshoring hub.
See you for the next edition. Have a question or any feedback? Just hit reply. I'd love to chat!
Arnaud