“Better to trip with the feet than with the tongue.” Zeno of Citium
June 2, End Of Day
Fundraising picks of the week
Qurable: Their vision is to generate the largest ecosystem for exchanging benefits and reward points worldwide based on the current businesses’ and users' needs. What is the proposal? They democratize access to a loyalty ecosystem according to the business needs and not to what the technical teams can do. Bigger companies with solid technology teams can connect to our platform through APIs. At the same time, smaller ones can launch their complete loyalty program through a self-service journey. Get to know the case HERE.
FeedVax: Animal farming is a $2,3T industry that has a $300B loses due to diseases. There are two bad alternatives to prevent diseases; injectable vaccines and antibiotics. The new way to solve these problems → Oral vaccines. Get to know the case HERE.
Dive deeper into other fundraising firms in LatAm here.
A new venture capital fund, Lab+ Ventures, is targeting Latin American science startups in the life sciences sector and has managed to secure funding from family offices and wealthy investors, despite a funding crunch. The fund aims to raise $10 million in its first funding round and has commitments for more than half that amount so far, with plans to raise an additional $15 million in a second round in 2024.
Brazilian fintech company EBANX plans to expand its operations into 11 African countries by the end of the year, marking its first move outside of Latin America. The company sees Africa as a promising market due to its growing digital economy, young population, and increasing digital penetration, similar to the landscape in Latin America when EBANX first started its journey.
Fintech company Kiwi has raised $80 million in funding to provide credit access to underbanked consumers in the US. The funding includes a $75 million credit facility and $4.5 million in pre-series A funding, with the aim of helping Latino consumers build credit history and improve financial literacy.
Brazil: Central bank chief opposes the creation of a common currency, arguing that it is unnecessary in the digital era and solves a problem that no longer exists. He emphasized the power of digital solutions and expressed opposition to a common currency between Brazil and Argentina, as it would mix their different economic characteristics.
Argentina: Has signed a deal with China to renew its currency swap line, allowing it to access nearly $10 billion, according to a statement from Argentina's central bank. The agreement extends the total swap line of 130 billion yuan ($18.4 billion) for three more years and doubles the freely accessible portion from 35 billion yuan to 70 billion yuan ($9.9 billion), providing a boost to Argentina's declining foreign currency reserves.
El Salvador: Former President Mauricio Funes and his justice minister in El Salvador have been sentenced to prison for their connections to criminal groups and failure to fulfill their duties. Funes received a 14-year sentence, while the former minister, David Munguia, received 18 years. The attorney general stated that these officials had engaged in illicit activities and betrayed their obligation to protect the Salvadoran people.
Trinidad and Tobago: The government has accepted bid recommendations for six out of eight onshore oil and gas exploration blocks, aiming to counter the decline in its oil and gas production. The awards, which include companies like A&V Oil and Gas, Touchstone Exploration, Eco Oil and Gas Solutions, Challenger Energy, Nabi Construction, and Trinity Exploration & Production, are expected to be disclosed this week, and negotiations with companies bidding on the remaining two blocks may be pursued to potentially improve their offers.
Despite currently having a tech market cap as a percentage of GDP of only 1.5% compared to India's 15%, if Latin America manages to catch up to India's position in the next decade, it could create a value of over $500 billion. This suggests significant untapped potential in the region's tech sector, making a bullish outlook for Latin America in the coming years a contrarian but exciting perspective. Check the full report here.
