“At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can.” - Frida Kahlo

MARKETS

September 1, End Of Day

• Argentina
• S&P MERVAL Index = 634,791.69 (YTD = 214.12%)
• Brazil
• BOVESPA Index = 117,892.96 (YTD = 7.43%)
• Chile
• S&P IPSA Chile = 3,382.31 (YTD = 6.61%)
• Colombia
• MSCI COLCAP = 1,084.71 (YTD = –15.27%)
• Mexico
• IPC Mexico BMV = 53,145.36 (YTD = 9.66%)
• Peru
• S&P/BVL Peru = 23,133.53 (YTD = 8.45%)

TECH

Fundraising picks of the week

‍

CardioTherMetrics: AI-enabled heart failure detection tool. Combines AI with thermal imaging cameras, enabling remote monitoring and assessment.  Get to know the case here.

Worknmates: Marketplace for remote companies and employees → Work from anywhere. In Worknmates, companies set up a maximum budget for employees. What can employees do with this budget?

1. They can book a space by hour, day or longer in 2,500 coworking spaces in 25 countries.
2. Those staying at home can purchase products (headsets, monitors, coffee capsules, etc.) from the home office supply store.
3. They can include their food in their experience with integrations with Rappi, Uber Eats, PedidosYa, and Ifood.

Get to know the case here.

‍Dive deeper into other fundraising firms in LatAm here.

More in tech - Digital transformation of LATAM

Atlantico just published the ‘Latin America Digital Transformation report’, which provides comprehensive analysis that sheds light on the key trends, opportunities, and challenges shaping the digital landscape in Latin America. Here some key insights:

1. Digital Democratization: The region has undergone a significant digital democratization, with online demographics evolving to mirror local society. Despite expensive and slow data for the poor, there has been greater access to e-commerce and financial services from middle- and lower-income classes. This progress is expected to lead to further increases in internet access and usage.
2. Digitalization of Money: Brazil has been a leader in the digitalization of money, with 95% of interactions with financial institutions being through digital channels (page 2). This digitalization has led to the formalization of the economy and labor, greater inclusion in the financial system, and access to credit.
3. Renewal of entrepreneurial spirit: Despite a challenging year, there is a renewal of the entrepreneurial spirit in the region. Founder (and tech employees) optimism increased by more than fivefold (page 38).
4. Venture Capital Activity: Global venture funding fell by 49% in Q2-2023 vs. Q2-2022, with LATAM showing the highest regional variance. Report notes that there is “Large queue of unicorns” that “presents a robust pipeline for future public tech companies” (page 42).
5. Global reach: LATAM has benefited from its neutrality in the U.S.-China relations. Factories are trying to keep up with US nearshoring demand while trade with China reaches historic levels. LATAM has large essential metal reserves and leads in agriculture. It relies heavily on commodities, and the region holds large reserves of sought-after metals and minerals critical for the green transition.

Despite these opportunities, the regions still faces significant challenges, including poverty, education levels, labour informality or low access to healthcare. The true power of technology (especially AI) and the entrepreneurial spirit lies in its ability to address these challenges and transform lives - “not in its ability to generate cute pictures and funny poems” (page 2).

Read the report here.

CURRENT AFFAIRS

Nicaragua: China and Nicaragua have signed a Free Trade Agreement, covering various important areas for Nicaragua. For instance, including trade of goods, services, investment, customs, tariffs, financial services, environmental deals, electronic transactions, data protection, and digital economy cooperation. This move is part of China's growing influence in Latin America, a region traditionally more dependent on the U.S. for trade.

Mexico: Mexican Senator Xochitl Galvez has secured the main opposition candidacy for the upcoming presidential election after receiving the endorsement of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which decided to back her instead of its own candidate, Beatriz Paredes. This move brings Mexico closer to the possibility of its first female president, as the ruling MORENA party is also expected to select a female candidate, Claudia Sheinbaum, according to recent polls. Galvez, a member of the National Action Party (PAN), is seen as the strongest contender to challenge MORENA's dominance and has energized the opposition with her appeal across class divides

El Salvador: Google Cloud and the Government of El Salvador have announced a seven-year partnership to use Google Distributed Cloud services to help transform El Salvador into a technological hub in Central America. The alliance, pending legislative approval, aims to digitally transform the country, modernize government services, and improve healthcare and education. El Salvador's President, Nayib Bukele, stated that the partnership with Google Cloud would open unprecedented avenues for innovation, economic growth, and improvement of public services, redefining the technological landscape with the combination of Google's global experience and El Salvador's boldness.

FURTHER READING

Want to know more about digital transformation in LATAM? Listen to Village Global Venture Stories podcast on the Atlantico report here.

“Takeaways:

• If Latin America was its own country it would be #3 in the world in terms of population and GDP.
• Brazil and Mexico combined make up over half of the population of all of Latin America.
• In the US about 60% of public market capitalization is made up of technology companies but in Latin America that proportion is only 1.8%.
• Latin America is about 10-15 years behind where China is, which is itself about 5-7 years behind where the US is. There is a ton of catch-up that will happen over the next couple decades and that presents a huge opportunity.
• Latin America has some deep scars from hyperinflation decades ago. They were some of the first countries to quickly raise rates in order to tame the inflation that we've been seeing globally in the last few years. That has paid off with some countries in LATAM starting to lower rates already.”