Brazilian fintech company Klubi has successfully raised 45 million reais (approximately US$7.45 million) in a Series A funding round. This financial boost was co-led by L4 Venture Builder and the corporate venture capital arm of Telefônica Brasil, known as Vivo Ventures, which has previously backed Klubi by leading a 30 million reais round last year. With this latest injection of capital, Klubi aims to accelerate its growth trajectory by expanding its product portfolio and enhancing partnerships while also developing new technologies specifically for the consortium financing segment. The startup has distinguished itself as the only fintech authorised by Brazil's central bank to provide services in the local consortium market, and it currently boasts a credit portfolio amounting to 500 million reais.
In the realm of corporate venture capital (CVC), Brazil remains a dominant player in Latin America, with Argentina following closely behind. The Corporate Venturing Latam 2024 study, conducted by Wayra Hispam—the CVC and open innovation division of Telefónica Movistar—in collaboration with Global Corporate Venturing, reports that Argentina leads the Spanish-speaking Latin American region, accounting for 25% of the CVC operations identified. Chile shares third place alongside Mexico, each contributing approximately 21% to the total CVCs described in the study. Notably, 80% of CVCs in Hispanic America are focused in just four countries, and the number of active corporate funds has seen a twofold increase from 2020 to 2023.
In another noteworthy development, Brazilian fintech unicorn CloudWalk has established a new credit rights investment fund (FIDC), amounting to 2.7 billion reais (around US$447 million), to finance its loan operations. The fundraising saw participation from 16 institutions, with Itaú BBA leading the coordination efforts. Other prominent participants included Bradesco BBI, BTG Pactual, BB-Banco de Investimentos, and Banco Safra. Prior to this, CloudWalk had raised 1.6 billion reais via another FIDC operation in May of this year.
On the logistics front, Mexican startup Skydropx is expanding into Brazil following its acquisition of local logistics technology firm Frenet. Originally founded in 2015, Frenet was acquired in 2021 by Sequoia Capital for 35 million reais. Reports indicate that Skydropx is paying 31.5 million reais for Frenet. Skydropx, which commenced operations in Mexico in 2014, claims to manage over three million shipments monthly and has previously ventured into Colombia following a US$20 million Series A funding round co-led by Base10 Partners, Cometa, and 645 Ventures. The company serves clients including Claro, MercadoLibre, and Cemex.
In Colombia, the buy now, pay later solutions provider Addi has secured a US$100 million credit facility from Victory Park Capital, a firm specialising in private credit investments. Established in 2018, Addi has positioned itself as a leader in the Colombian fintech market, serving over two million customers and more than 18,000 merchants. Earlier in the year, Addi raised US$36 million in a round led by Singapore’s sovereign fund GIC, alongside investments from Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures, plus US$50 million in debt financing from Goldman Sachs. In 2021, during a boom in startup financing, Addi obtained US$200 million, again led by GIC.
Lastly, in an effort to bolster its presence in Latin America, US-based tax solutions provider Avalara has acquired Brazil's Oobj, known for its electronic invoicing software. Although specific transaction details and values remain undisclosed, Avalara announced that it aims to integrate Oobj's e-invoicing expertise into its global solutions, thereby facilitating its expansion into additional Latin American countries, including Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Costa Rica. Avalara, which serves 41,000 corporate and government clients across over 75 countries, has implemented its tax compliance automation software through more than 1,200 certified partnerships with leading ERP platforms.
Source: Noah Wire Services