Bloomberg Línea — Latin American financing rounds decreased 25% in volume in October, compared to the same month of 2021, to total $920 million, according to Latin America’s data provider for startups eSling Hub.
However, despite the drop, October saw the largest number of transactions since July 2021, with 111 deals.
In terms of early-stage funding, October was the month of 2022 with the largest number of small investments, of up to $5 million, according to Sling Hub.
These were the startups that raised funds this week:
Fácil Consulta
Brazil’s Fácil Consulta, a startup for scheduling appointments for those who do not have a health insurance plan, raised 1.2 million reais ($223,069) through equity crowdfunding platform EqSeed, an online investment platform for startups.
One hundred investors participated in the fundraising. With the capital raised, the startup has a medium-term plan to be present in more than 100 cities, including large Brazilian regional capitals.
The solution offered by the startup pledges to reduce the average price of consultations, as physicians registered on the Fácil Consultation platform charge an amount that is seen as mid-priced, reducing the cost for the patient and bringing more revenue and patients to the doctor than the consultations coming from insurance plans.
CERC
CERC, a Brazilian company that uses receivables to expand credit offering, received the first tranche of 350 million reais (close to $65 million) led by Mubadala Capital and accompanied by Valor Capital.
The second tranche of the contribution may occur in up to one year’s time, conditional on meeting investor expectations.
CERC’s platform enables the registration of receivables to be done digitally in its use as ballast for credit operations.
With the funding, CERC says it is capitalized to accelerate its growth, invest in fronts that require more capital and even study potential acquisitions that have synergy with its business model.
Tul
Colombian hardware store startup Tul obtained financing from Bancolombia for38 billion Colombian pesos (around $7.7 million) to strengthen its operations in Latin America, after having entered the Brazilian market, Tul announced this week.
Tul is a digital app focused on the sale and distribution of construction materials with operations in Colombia, Mexico and Brazil. In mid-2022 Tul closed down its operations in Ecuador, where it had expected to invest close to $15 million.
Flapper
The first private aviation-on-demand company
in Latin America, Flapper closed an extension of its Series A of nearly $5.6 million, which complements its $2 million round raised in 2021.
The investment was led by DXA’s private equity fund and investment fund Arien Invest.
Previously, Flapper had raised seed capital from Latin American aerospace fund Aerotec, Brazil’s leading accelerator ACE, and individual investors.
According to Paul Malicki, CEO of Flapper, the new funds will be used for investments in technology, flight operations and even acquisitions.
One of Flapper’s priorities for 2023 is to expand the Mexican market and contribute to the country’s economic growth. Mexico has high demand for business aviation and is a country with high purchasing power, which is why for Flapper, Mexico is a very important market, and it is estimated that it could become one of the leading countries in air mobility for the entire region, according to Flapper.
Trully
Trully, a Mexican digital fraud-prevention platform that combines collective intelligence with machine learning to enrich information about the end customer’s identity, raised $4.1 million in a seed round this week to continue its growth in Latin America.
The round was led by Costanoa Ventures and included the participation of angel investors in the region, including Pablo Viguera, co-founder and CEO of Belvo, and Juan Pablo Ortega, CEO of Yuno and co-founder of Rappi.
Trully was founded by Fernando Gonzalez Paulin, CEO, who previously served as Chief Data Officer at RappiCard Mexico; Carl W. Handlin, CTO, who served as global director of data science at RappiCard; and Eric Balderrama, COO, who served as CISO at RappiCard.
”With this investment, we will focus on enhancing our technology and strengthening our operations in Mexico, along with recruiting engineering and product development talent as we expand into Latin American countries,” said Fernando Gonzalez Paulin, CEO and co-founder of Trully, in a statement.
Trii
Colombian fintech Trii received a $3 million injection from Bancolombia to boost its growth in Colombia, where it launched in March 2021, as well as in Peru and Chile, where it began operations this year.
The capital injection in Trii is part of the investment portfolio of Bancolombia Ventures, the Colombian financial institution’s venture capital arm.
Trii allows users to buy and sell shares on US stock exchanges without a minimum amount and from a smartphone.
Since its creation last year, Trii has clocked up 75,000 users and $22 million in assets.
Carlos Guayara, co-founder of Trii, told Bloomberg Línea that Mexico is an important market for their product, but they want to attack it once the company is consolidated, since there are fintechs in the country that offer similar solutions and with more positioning and funding.
Finkargo
Colombian startup Finkargo announced a new financing for $75 million in a structured loan to accelerate the growth of more than 600 MSMEs in the country over the next year.
The investment was made by Community Investment Management (CIM), an impact investment fund that provides financing to ventures that seek to contribute to the financial inclusion of entrepreneurs and citizens in emerging markets.
This latest funding comes after receiving $7.5 million in seed capital just seven months ago, and financing of close to $50 million in the last 14 months in international purchases of MSMEs.
