The advantage of digital wallets is that you don’t need to have a bank account to access a more inclusive financial system.
If 2020 was the year of the fintech boom, 2022 could be considered the year of its plateau. Due to changing global financial conditions, financial technology companies in the region have received less international capital investment this year. However, in this context that could be considered negative, some companies are still managing to raise new dollars this year for their expansion.
In the past week, koibanxannounced a local platform for the tokenization of assets and payments through blockchain technology which successfully closed its Series A investment round, for which it raised $ 22 million, which will serve to continue its regional expansion. especially with an eye to Central America.
Founded in 2015, the company currently has more than 70 full-time employees and physical offices in Mexico, Colombia, El Salvador, Argentina, Uruguay and aims for Panama, Paraguay, Guatemala and Honduras for the next 18 months.
investors
The investment round was led by Algorand Inc. and saw the participation of strategic industry and market funds such as Borderless Capital, venture capital firm Kalonia Venture Partners, Mexican fund G2, Central American venture capital fund Innogen Capital and a group of unionized senior executives from the banking and crypto sector as Martin Kaplan, CEO of Prisma Medios de Pago.
almost simultaneouslyor, fintech Pomelo has announced that it has managed to raise another $ 15 million in an extension to its Series A round, which now reaches $ 50 million in funding. The company, founded by three executives who were part of the birth of another fintech, Naranja X, It has already secured $ 60 million in funding in just eighteen months.
The resources will be used to expand its regional presence, in particular for the recently launched activities in Colombia and Peru, and to improve the product portfolio in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
Entrepreneurs
“It is a pride as Latin American entrepreneurs and also a great confirmation that major international funds believe in the potential of our region and in the need for a new payment infrastructure in Latin America,” said Gastón Irigoyen, CEO and co-founder of Pomelo.
Previously, Geoopagos, the infrastructure platform for accepting payments, has announced that it has closed a capital round of 35 million dollars led by Riverwood Capital, a global investor in high-growth technology companies, with the participation of Endeavor Catalyst.
The company, which is present in 15 Latin American countries and its infrastructure processes an annual volume of over 5 billion dollars, has as clients financial system actors such as Santander, BBVA, Naranja X, Macro, Supervielle, Banco Patagonia , BPN, Bancor, Itaú, Fiserv, Bac Credomatic, Niubiz, Banco Estado de Chile, among others.
These examples serve as recognition for the fintech sector at a time when there is some concern about the changing conditions for the creation and development of companies in the sector. The CEO of the company Poincenot Tech Studiio and president of the Ibero-American Fintech Alliance said: “Investors who continue to bet on the sector prioritize not so much the projections of good stories, but their results.”
“This may mean a challenge for many companies, but it is undoubtedly an opportunity for growth. The fintech industry is now facing the opportunity to begin to draw its maturity,” López said.
Ana Chiara Pedotti
Source: Clarin
