In line with global trends, VC investment in Latin America has seen a significant adjustment in late-stage rounds (Series C+). Seed and early-stage investment, on the other hand, have remained strong, recording 113% and 48% YTD growth, respectively, when compared to 1H 2021, according to LAVCA data.
Nearly one third of VC dollars went towards women-led startups in 1H 2022, a new record since LAVCA started tracking this metric in 2019. LAVCA presented this trend along with other data insights at a recent press conference in partnership with Microsoft in São Paulo.
Overall, VC is having its second strongest year on record, with USD5.4b deployed across 541 deals in 1H 2022. Notable fund closes included Lightrock, Valor Capital Group, Headline Brazil, MAYA Capital and 17Sigma.
LAVCA’s seventh annual Latin American Startup Directory profiles 523 startups that raised USD1m+ in venture funding in 2021 and 1H 2022, during a time of record venture investment in the region.
This year’s directory includes details of each company’s disclosed investors, sector, stage and headquarters. Building on historic metrics, the 2022 directory includes a measure for the increasing flow of capital to women-led startups, an analysis of funding for repeat founders and the participation of corporate investors in startup funding rounds.
LAVCA is excited to announce new investor meetings and activities as part of its LAVCA Week 2022 agenda.
LAVCA Week 2022 will convene LAVCA’s unparalleled network of private capital investors from across Latin America, the US, Canada, Asia and other global markets from October 11-14 in New York.
LP Keynote Fireside Chat
Yup Kim Head of Investments, Private Equity, California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS)
D. Ellen Shuman Chair, State of Connecticut Investment Advisory Council
Scott Voss, Managing Director, HarbourVest Partners
Victory Hill Capital Partners, through its Global Sustainable Energy Opportunities fund, and Paraty Energia agreed to acquire Brazil-based hydropower plant Mascarenhas from EDP Brasil for BRL1.2b (~USD244m).Read more#Real Assets
Prisma Capital agreed to exit its full stake in Brazil-listed oil and gas company Dommo Energia to another Brazil-listed oil and gas company Prio, formerly PetroRio, for BRL1.85 per share, or a reported value between BRL694m (~USD135m) and BRL942m (~USD183m). Read more#Real Assets
Goldman Sachs provided a USD140m asset-backed loan for Xepelin, a Chile-based payments and lending platform for SMEs. KASZEK and Avenir Growth led a USD111m Series B in May, the largest known Series B for a Chile-based startup at the time. Read more#VC
Brazil-based Pátria Investments agreed to acquire an 82% stake in NS Agro, a Chile-based agricultural supplies distributor, for USD107m. Read more#PE
Clip, a Mexico-based POS payments platform, secured a USD50m revolving credit facility from Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and HSBC. SoftBank Latin America and Viking Global Investors led a USD250m round in June 2021 at a reported USD2b valuation; General Atlantic and SoftBank invested in 2019 at a USD400m valuation. Read more#VC
DFC approved a USD50m commitment to Aqua Capital’s Fund III targeting agriculture and food enterprises, USD25m to GEF’s LatAm Climate Solutions Fund III focused on Brazil and USD22.5m to Ashmore Avenida’s third real estate fund targeting energy-efficient affordable housing in Colombia, particularly for women. Read more#PE#Real Assets
Peru-based Salkantay Ventures reached a USD26m final close for its Salkantay Exponential Fund, which will target early-stage startups in Latin America. Read more#VC
Bancolombia and responsAbility provided USD25m in debt financing for Finaktiva, a Colombia-based credit and factoring platform for early-stage startups and scaleups. ALIVE led a USD3m+ round in August 2021. Read more#VC
Fasanara Capital provided USD20m in debt financing for Colombia-based fintech Plurall. Read more#Private Credit
StepStone Group led a USD20m Series A for Draftea, a Mexico-based fantasy sports league platform, with follow-on from KASZEK, Sequoia, Bullpen, Courtside Ventures and angels Cristiano Ronaldo, Travis Kelce (Kansas City Chiefs) and Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets). Draftea raised USD4m in April 2022; KASZEK led a USD13.2m round in January. Read more#VC
Gradient Ventures led a USD15m Series A for R2, a Mexico-based embedded lending platform for consumer-facing applications, with participation from FEMSA Ventures and PayU, and follow-on from General Catalyst, Magma Partners and 166 2nd, the family office of WeWork founder Adam Neuman. General Catalyst led a USD5.9m seed round in February 2022. Read more#VC
Naya Homes, a Mexico-based short-term and vacation rental platform, raised a USD5.6m seed round from Carao Ventures, Clocktower Technology Ventures, Flybridge Capital Partners, Primary Venture Partners, K50 Ventures and Derive Ventures. Read more#VC
Deetken Impact Sustainable Energy invested USD5m in Greenlease, a subsidiary of Costa Rica-based solar energy system financer greenenergy. Read more#Real Assets
At One Ventures and Builders VC led a USD3.7m seed round for Puna Bio, an Argentina-based biotech that cultivates beneficial microbes for soil enrichment, with participation from SP Ventures and Air Capital, and follow-on from IndieBio, Glocal and Grid Exponential. Read more#VC
Tiger Global led a USD3m seed round for Rebill, an Argentina-based automated payment collection platform for corporates, with participation from YC, Soma Capital and SV Angels and angels Arash Ferdowsi (Dropbox) and Guillermo Rauch (Vercel). Rebill raised a USD600k pre-seed round previously. Read more#VC
Accel-KKR acquired a majority stake in Teamcore, a Chile-based retail execution platform, for an undisclosed amount. Read more#PE
Delivering Impact and Returns
Victory Hill Capital Partners, through its Global Sustainable Energy Opportunities fund, and Paraty Energia agreed to acquire Brazil-based hydropower plant Mascarenhas from EDP Brasil for BRL1.2b (~USD244m). Read more #Real Assets 
