“Nature gave us pain as a messaging device to tell us that we are approaching, or that we have exceeded, our limits in some way.” - Ray Dalio
Colombia: Ubanku: Is a neo-bank for the youth in LATAM. Get to know the case here.
Argentina: Mokens League: Is a blockchain-based eSports that use NFT characters to Play and Earn. Get to know the case here.
Dive deeper into other fundraising firms in LatAm here.
Invariantes, an investment firm from Guatemala, recently revealed a $30 million fund aimed at backing startups in the US and Latin America. The fund employs a hybrid approach, with half of the capital allocated for investments in emerging VC funds and the other half for direct investments in early-stage startups across various sectors like fintech, AI, Proptech, and more.
Colombian cloud kitchen startup, Foodology, secured US$17 million in funding from existing investors like Andreessen Horowitz and Chimera, along with new investor 30N Ventures, a Chile-based VC focused on emerging markets. Foodology's model involves rapidly developing and expanding original and third-party restaurant brands in multiple Latin American countries, operating over 85 cloud kitchens and delivering more than 300,000 orders per month.
Brazilian startup Culttivo raised $14.5 million in financing from FIAgro, enabling them to offer more than 500 new credits to small and medium coffee producers in Brazil. Culttivo's digital platform provides credit solutions tailored to the needs of coffee producers, offering two credit lines—one for financing production expenses and another for storing production to secure better future selling prices.
Brazilian car rental startup, Turbi, raised over US$16.4 million in a funding round led by EXT Capital. The majority of the funds, 90%, will be used to purchase vehicles, with a focus on zero-kilometer cars among the top 10 best-selling models in the market, aiming to expand their fleet from nearly 4,000 to 5,000 cars.
Ecuador: An oil spill of approximately 1,200 barrels occurred at a state-run Petroecuador refinery in Esmeraldas, Ecuador, with about half of the crude contaminating approximately 4km of Las Palmas Beach. Authorities are investigating the cause of the spill, and initial cleanup efforts have controlled 90% of its impact on land and 60% at sea, but potential penalties are pending an assessment from Petroecuador.
Honduras: Plans to build an isolated prison colony on Great Swan Island, known as Islas del Cisne, to house 2,000 gang members in an effort to cut them off from criminal networks on the mainland. The decision comes after a gang-related massacre of 46 women in a prison and seeks to follow El Salvador's tough approach to gang violence, but critics argue it may not address the root causes of endemic violence and raise concerns about the impact on the island's biodiverse ecosystems.
Cuba: As the private sector experiences a resurgence, small businesses are emerging, leading to increased productivity but also rising inequality on the island. While some see the expansion of the private sector as essential for Cuba's future, concerns about brain drain and the impact on state-delivered services arise as professionals are drawn to the private sector for better pay.
Mexico: In the first half of July, Mexico's headline inflation is expected to have eased to its lowest level in more than two years at 4.77%, while core inflation is forecast to have declined to 6.73%. Despite the slowdown, both inflation rates remain above the central bank's target, reinforcing expectations that the bank will maintain its key interest rate for a prolonged period to address the inflationary pressures.
In 2023, Mexican household borrowing is increasing at a faster pace, indicating that factors like improved credit access and strong inherent demand are outweighing macroeconomic challenges. This trend suggests that Mexico is potentially catching up to Brazil, where credit balances are higher but economic growth is slowing down.
