🇨🇴 Fintech Scene Picks Up Steam | Ep. 115
Plus, Insurtech Olé Life US$13 million Series B, Colombia launches Bre-B its own instant payment system, and more!
Estimados,
Last week, Colombian Fintech Finmaq made headlines by announcing its US$29 million pre-Series A. If you're wondering why a round that big is labeled as a pre-Series A round, a possible explanation is that a big chunk of the capital comes from the debt side, which is very common for Fintechs with a lending business model. If someone has knowledge about the split between equity and debt on this round, feel free to reply to this email.
Going on with funding rounds, Insurtech Olé Life closed a US$13 million Series B. While the startup is Miami-based, I decided to include it in this week's briefing. Not because Miami is part of LATAM (though it almost is), but because the startup serves exclusively the Latin American market.
On the startup news, Mexican digital supermarket Jüsto partners with Uber Eats to offer over 6,000 fresh, organic, and household products through its app in Mexico City, Monterrey, and Querétaro. Can we start dreaming of a future acquisition? It's far-fetched but, if it ever happens, remember that you read it here first!
Talking about alliances, the European Union and Mexico finalized a long-negotiated trade deal to modernize their 20-year-old agreement, aiming to diversify economic ties amid global uncertainties and Donald Trump's return to the U.S. presidency… Today.
As usual, there's more, so let's dive in.
Follow The Money
🇨🇴 Finmaq raises a US$29 million pre-Series A round
Colombian Fintech Finmaq has secured US$29 million in pre-Series A round, combining equity and debt, to expand its financing solutions for SMEs in productive machinery. The startup, which has financed over US$30 million in assets and currently run an active portfolio of US$17 million from 550 clients, aims to halve loan processing times and double its portfolio by 2025. Finmaq targets underserved sectors like agriculture, healthcare, and construction, enabling 30% of its clients, many without prior credit history, to generate primary income from financed assets while fostering job creation.
Sector: FinTech
Founders: Diego Acero, Diego Sanz de Santamaría
Investors: Alive Ventures, 30N Ventures, Accial Capital, Iris bank
Insurtech Olé Life raises US$13 million in Series B round
Insurtech Olé Life has secured US$13 million in Series B funding led by PayPal Ventures. The startup aims to transform financial security in Latin America by providing fully digital life insurance solutions tailored to regional needs, including USD-denominated policies. Having insured over US$2 billion in value and partnered with 4,000+ distributors, Olé Life plans to expand operations and launch new products, such as whole-family plans. This investment underscores the region’s growing demand for insurance, with Olé Life positioned to address a US$500 billion market potential.
Sector: InsurTech
Founders: Michael Carricarte
Investors: PayPal Ventures, with support from Mundi Ventures, AV8, and Advent Morro
Startups News
🇲🇽 Jüsto partners with Uber Eats
Digital supermarket Jüsto has partnered with Uber Eats to offer over 6,000 fresh, organic, and household products through its app in Mexico City, Monterrey, and Querétaro. This collaboration, enables users to receive groceries at home within 60 minutes. With Jüsto, Uber Eats expands its supermarket offerings to ten partners nationwide, strengthening its position in Mexico. Jüsto, known for its fully digital model and support for local producers, continues its growth following a US$70 million funding round in 2024.
🇨🇴 Fintech Yuno partners with PayPal
Colombian Fintech Yuno, a payment orchestration platform, has partnered with PayPal to enhance its digital payment offerings, granting businesses access to PayPal's global network of over 400 million active users. This collaboration allows businesses using Yuno to integrate PayPal's secure and flexible payment options, expanding market reach and boosting revenue potential. With support for over 300 global payment methods, Yuno's platform offers features like one-click payments, advanced fraud protection, and optimized Smart Routing to improve transaction success rates.
🇲🇽 Nu México partners with Oxxo
Nu México has partnered with OXXO to expand its cash deposit and withdrawal network, giving over 9 million customers access to OXXO’s 22,000 stores across Mexico. Starting January 14, 2025, Nu cardholders can withdraw cash at OXXO locations, with deposit services rolling out in the following months. This collaboration, complementing Nu’s existing 30,000+ contact points, aims to boost financial inclusion in underserved areas and simplify access to financial services in a cash-dependent country.
VC - M&A News
BID Invest approves US$50 million for Victory Park Capital
BID Invest has approved a US$50 million investment in Victory Park Capital (VPC) Investor Fund W, to support rapidly growing Fintechs in Latin America and the Caribbean, focusing on SMEs. This funding aims to close the significant financing gap faced by mid-market Fintechs, promote Fintech credit as an emerging asset class, and foster financial inclusion, particularly for underserved populations and businesses. Established in 2019 with an initial commitment of US$102 million, the fund now benefits from additional investment to drive growth and innovation in the Fintech ecosystem. Alongside financing, BID Invest and VPC will collaborate on advisory services across VPC's Fintech portfolio.
Economy
The EU and Mexico modernize their economic agreement
The EU and Mexico finalized a long-negotiated trade deal to modernize their 20-year-old agreement, aiming to diversify economic ties amid global uncertainties and Donald Trump’s return to U.S. leadership. The deal includes tariff removals on key goods, duty-free export of Mexican electric vehicles meeting content requirements, and expanded low-tariff quotas for Mexican products like beef and ethanol. It strengthens labor, environmental, and intellectual property protections, while addressing energy market access concerns in Mexico. With €82bn in goods trade in 2023, the agreement offers economic security and signals alignment between Mexico, the EU, and the U.S., pending legislative approval.
🇨🇴 Launches Bre-B its own instant payment system
Colombia will launch Bre-B, an instant payment system, in September 2025, aiming to boost financial inclusion, streamline digital transactions, and reduce cash usage. Operated through financial institutions’ platforms, Bre-B will enable free, instant transfers between banks, cooperatives, and e-wallets, using unique identifiers like phone numbers or email addresses. Designed for personal and commercial transactions, it will also support QR code payments to formalize informal commerce. While initially free for financial institutions, minimal transaction fees will be introduced after three years. Bre-B seeks to enhance economic visibility and security through innovative fraud prevention measures and user education.
Expansion Plans
Tether Holdings announces plans to move to El Salvador
Tether, the issuer of the stablecoin USDT, announced plans to move all its operations and legal entity to El Salvador, where it will establish its global headquarters in a newly constructed skyscraper. Managing US$137 billion in assets, Tether is a major player in the cryptocurrency sector. President Nayib Bukele highlighted that Tether’s market value is four times El Salvador’s GDP and expects this move to generate employment opportunities. This news follows last week announcement from Bitfinex Derivatives to relocate to El Salvador.
🇨🇴 Fintech Littio expands its operations to Mexico, Chile, Peru, and Argentina
Colombian Fintech Littio has expanded its operations to Mexico, Chile, Peru, and Argentina, aiming to address the lack of access to formal financial services in Latin America, where over 50% of the population remains unbanked. By offering digital dollar accounts, competitive savings rewards of up to 9%, fast international transfers, and soon, an international Mastercard, Littio provides tools to protect capital and facilitate global financial connectivity. This expansion is set to serve over 500,000 new customers, and targeting US$500 million in transactions.
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Abrazo,
Arnaud
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