Happy Sunday!
The number of open digital accounts in Brazil just exceeded the country’s population. Come again? That’s correct - 250mm accounts for a population of 211mm people.
In 2021 alone, 115mm accounts were opened. Should we be extremely happy since this could mean that our unbanked population is decreasing significantly? Not quite. When we look at the per capita figure - it has also been increasing. That is, banked Brazilians (especially the ones with higher income and education), have more than one bank account. This number was 2.1 in 2019, hike to 3.9 in 2021. Another interesting data point is the number of people with accounts in purely digital banks and the considered traditional banks - going from around 40% in 2019 to 64% in 2021.
It is no news that Brazilians are, even more so after the pandemic, keen to digital alternatives. In an even more competitive scenario, seamless onboarding and UX/UI become more important by the minute. Traditional banks - and any other traditional company for that matter - are trying to keep up using different approaches. One of them is through corporate venture capital strucutures.
Speaking of which, CB Insights just released its CVC 2021 report. The numbers were impressive!!! The year saw 221 new CVCs, up 53% YoY and global CVC-backed funding more than doubled to reach a record $169.3B in 2021. The trend is expected to continue.
Now – let’s go ahead to the week’s news… Please bear in mind that these are strictly my opinion, based on my background and personal interests. Feel free to share this newsletter with anyone who might be interested – to subscribe, just click on the link below!
PS: I will be going to the SXSW event next week! Please reply to this e-mail if you will be there as well - would love to meet up :)
PS2: This is a LatAm Tech newsletter - there is no way to ignore what is happening in Ukraine - and in the world for that matter. However, I will leave comments on the topic to the experts on the subject.
Y Combinator’s push to fund startups around the world is paying off. Data from shows that one in six, or about 16% of the companies it has incubated that are now worth $150 million or more – some 267 now – are headquartered outside of the United States. Latin American representatives are growing consistently.
My take: I’m not surprised by this data, and the rising number of international companies that it implies. I wonder how quickly will the portion of high-value Y Combinator-backed startups moves towards being majority international.
Tiger Global backed 335 deals in 2021 — up 334% from 2020’s 79. In 2022, it’s accelerating even more its dealmaking. The firm is averaging 2 deals per business day so far this year, despite a rocky few months for fund returns and tech stocks.
99minutos, logistics service company for e-commerce vendors across Latin America, announced another round of $82 million in Series C funding, led by Oak HC/FT, with participation from existing investors Kaszek and Prosus Ventures. The last round follows a $40 million Series B investment last May from Prosus and Kaszek and brings the company’s total funding to about $128.7 million.
Proptech Quinto Andar announces another acquistion: Noknox. The startup is a communications platform designed for condos. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Capim, Brazilian fintech platform designed to provide payment solutions focused on healthcare and essential needs through point-of-sale buy- now-pay-later fintech solutions that partners with clinics and offices, enabling low-income patients to get financing for their medical exams and procedures, raises USD 14.3mm from QED Investors.
Cannet, Brazilian cannabis marketplace, raises BRL 10mm to democratize the access to CBD products in the country.
Itau Unibanco is beta testing a financial solution designed for gamers - “Player’s Bank”. The launch of the app is expected to be in April
My take: Itau is clearly targeting one of the industries that have shown more growth in the last couple of years. In 2021, it represented USD 176bn, figure that is expected to rise to USD200 billion by 2023.
The Brazilian Central Bank announced the nine projects selected for the Lift Challenge (innovation laboratory aimed at implementing the Digital Real, which will be a virtual currency issued by the monetary authority, still without launch date. In all, the entity received 47 proposals from 43 different companies and approved just over 20%. In addition to Brazilian companies, there were startups from Germany, the US, Israel, Mexico, Portugal, UK and Sweden.
OLX Brazil acquired Sohtec, online real estate platform that allows agents to offer rental services online. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Iguatemi announced the acquisition of a 23% stake in Etiqueta Unica, one of the coubtry's leading e-commerce platforms for second-hand luxury goods. The size of the transactionwas of BRL 27 million - but the company also has a call option to become a controlling shareholder of the operation in the next three years. Etiqueta Única has been expanding at a steady pace (~40% per year) and, according to sources, already generates profit.
My take: Interesting move as the secondhand luxury goods market expands at a fast pace. According to Business Wire, the global secondhand luxury goods market is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 7.2% during 2021-2027. By 2030, secondhand clothing market, for example, is set to be twice the size of fast fashion.
What am I reading?
CB Insights - The Blockchain 50
Ranking of the 50 most promising blockchain and crypto companies in the world.
Business Insider - Startups valuations are crashing from what they were just a few weeks ago.
The Information: Laurie Segall’s Memoir Confronts Tech Titans
What did I listen/watch?
The Dropout - Series (Hulu) - already mentioned in the newsletter Elizabeth Holmes and the Theranos story - I started watching the series today and so far, so good. If you are as curious as me as to how the 19 year old was able to pull this off - it’s a must watch.
Quote of the week:
“Over the years we learned that if we asked people to rely on logic and common sense instead of on formal policies, most of the time we would get better results, and at lower cost.” Patty McCord, Chief Talent Officer, Netflix
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