Bloomberg Línea — Welcome to rounds of the week. In times of readjustments in the financing that venture capital grants to startups, those that are in the initial stage benefit the most, according to the Panorama Study of Venture Capital in Latin America, by Endeavor and Glisco Partners.
“Local and regional funds throughout Latin America are currently highly capitalized. It is estimated that there are a billion dollars available in the funds, and that capital will be deployed in the earliest series,” said Enrico Del Río, director of Intelligence Mexico at Endeavor.
During the presentation of the study in Mexico City, Del Río said 37% of the entrepreneurs analyzed that have received seed capital in the last few years have managed to move on to Series A rounds.
And he insisted that times of crisis mainly represent greater complexity for startups in more advanced stages because they must convince international funds to invest in them. Currently, 62% of capital investing in mature-stage Latin American startups comes from foreign funds, Endeavor’s analysis revealed.
“The capital in more advanced series is going to be much less accessible, and this is because the shares of international funds are beginning to reduce,” Del Río said.
Experts echo the Endeavor study in saying that venture capital will not stop flowing into the region, and that, despite the pessimism of the market, there are startups that will continue to earn the trust of investors.
These are the startups that this week managed to raise capital to continue growing:
Paggo
Guatemalan fintech Paggo helps micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises to receive digital payments through payment links, QR codes, and mPOS without rent or monthly payments. Recently, it concluded a pre-seed investment round for $600,000 through angel investors located in Guatemala, the United States, and Panama; and the company hopes to raise a Series A seed round in the short term.
In an interview with Bloomberg Línea, Paggo’s founder Luis Gómez Portillo said that with this investment they will launch their own POS or payment terminals, with which they will become the first fintech to launch this type of solution in a Central American country.
Moova
Argentine logtech startup Moova raised $10 million, with which it will target the US market. Founded in 2018, Moova aims to transform the capacity of courier fleets or logistics companies to offer highly efficient and low-cost package delivery solutions. The last-mile software platform optimizes costs, routing, and kilometers traveled by deliverers.
The logtech company already operates in eight Latin American countries, and has already been recognized by the G20 as a leader in smart cities and sustainable mobility.
Kriptos
Ecuadorian artificial intelligence startup Kriptos automates the process of classifying and identifying sensitive information. It raised an investment round for $3.1 million led by Act One Ventures.
CompuSoluciones Ventures, BuenTrip Ventures, and SVLA Venture Capital also participated in the round, in addition to other angel investors in the technology industry.
Negócios Verdes
GK Ventures announced an investment of 30 million reais ($5.84 million) in Brazilian industrial waste disposal platform Negócios Verdes.
Negócios Verdes owns 100% of the capital of the companies Rolth do Brasil and Sulminas, which work in waste from the steel industry. GK Ventures will have a minority stake in Negócios Verdes. The management consortium, with investors Daniel Goldberg and Marco Kgheirallah, will own 36.69% of the company. This is GK’s first investment in companies working to reverse climate change. Last year, the manager raised 400 million reais ($77.86 million) in a new fund to invest in growing companies in the education, health and climate change sectors.
Clicampo
Clicampo, a Brazilian startup that connects rural producers and restaurants with city retailers, raised 40 million reais ($7.78 million) in a seed round co-led by the Valor Capital Group and Maya Capital funds, with the support of angel investors.
Founded last year, the startup will use the money to expand and strengthen rural farming communities that provide fresh food to metropolitan regions, and increase demand in new business areas and sales segments, such as small retailers, large restaurant chains, and startups of on-demand groceries.
