LatAm ICT investment, financing watch

Despite a significant pullback in venture capital investments in 2021, it remained the second largest asset class in Latin America last year in terms of invested private capital, the Latin American Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (Lavca) said in a report about 2022 investments.

Seed funding turned out to be the most resilient investment stage, with funding surpassing US$1bn, up from US$650mn in 2021 and US$300mn in 2020. This was “driven by multi-stage funds’ increased exposure to early entrepreneurs coupled with a growing number of emerging fund managers,” Lavca said.

***

Brazil’s Voke, a provider of hardware and IT leasing services for corporates, said it raised 300mn reais (US$57.7mn) from a five-year private debt placement to fund its expansion plan, which includes portfolio diversification. 

The operation was led by Itaú BBA and coordinated by BTG Pactual, the company said in a release. 

Voke posted revenues of 422mn reais in 2022, up 225%.

***

Brazilian analytics and AI solutions provider 4intelligence raised 10mn reais in a pre-series A round from its investor Bradesco Private Equity & Venture Capital, the corporate venture arm of local lender Bradesco.

The company's series A round is expected to close in June, with total fundraising of 25mn reais. 4intelligence said in a release that it will use the proceeds mostly to expand its sales and marketing team.

The startup developed a platform that helps retailers creating models that predict demand and optimize inventory management.

Its customers include Coca-Cola, Volvo, Hering and M Dias Branco.

***
Puerto Rico-based payment processing company Evertec acquired Brazilian fintech paySmart as part of its expansion in South America.

The deal’s price tag was not disclosed.

Through the acquisition, Evertec said it will add more than 80 customers in Brazil, including large issuers and payment processors, digital banks, benefits card operators, and card acquirers.

Evertec manages a payment network system that processes more than 3bn transactions annually, and it offers services in 26 countries in Latin America.

***

Mexican proptech Flat.mx said that it completed the acquisition of Intelimétrica, a local big data company whose platform is expected to enhance its data analysis capabilities.

With the acquisition, Flat.mx expects to perform advanced analytics on properties in a matter of minutes, based on artificial intelligence.

Since its foundation, Flat.mx has been a user of Intelimétrica's solutions.

***
Chilean human resources startup Buk raised US$35mn in a second financing round to accelerate its growth in Mexico, enter Brazil and strengthen its position in Chile, Peru and Colombia, the company said in a statement.

Silicon Valley-based VC firm Base 10 led the operation. It was the second round of financing following a series A round in which it raised US$50mn in October 2021, with investments from SoftBank and Greenoaks.

Buk has some 4,000 clients in Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico.

***
Chilean fintech Tenpo said it attained 2mn clients since its launch three years ago.

Tenpo offers a wide range of products, including a digital account, a virtual and physical prepaid Mastercard, a dollar wallet (in partnership with PayPal), bill payments, transfers and remittances.

For this year, the company is planning to launch Tenpo Business, which is an account designed for startups, as well as an account for people under 18 with a focus on financial education.