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Press Release
Home Press Release Page 2
29 January
Press Release

GoTrendier closes a USD $3.5 million investment round to boost growth in Mexico and Colombia

by igniapartners

  • This injection of capital will allow GoTrendier to scale in its current geographies, and open a new market in Chile
  • Ataria joins existing investors IGNIA, Banco Sabadell, Antai Venture Builder, Bonsai Venture Capital and Pedralbes Partners to support GoTrendier
  • With more than 1.3 million users, the platform solidifies its position as a market leader in Latin America

GoTrendier, the leading application to buy and sell fashion among women in Latin America, continues its growth strategy with a new round of financing of USD $3.5 million.

This is the second round in just over a year, which gives entry to a new shareholder, Ataria, a Peruvian fund that invests in technology companies with high potential in early stages.  Existing investors Banco Sabadell and IGNIA reinforced their position, along with Antai Venture Builder, Bonsai Venture Capital, Pedralbes Partners and several business angels.

As explained by Sergio Pérez, Investment Director of Sabadell Venture Capital: “The volume of the market for buying and selling second-hand clothes in the world was 360,000 million transactions in 2017 and is expected to reach 400,000 million in 2022. For us, the combination of the huge market that GoTrendier is targeting, which today is the leading marketplace in Mexico and Colombia, and the team that leads the Company, has made us decide to accompany them in their growth to be leaders in this segment in all Spanish-speaking countries.”

The capital injection will allow the company to accelerate its growth rate in Mexico and Colombia, open in Chile, and strengthen the technical team to incorporate new features that will allow the company to scale.

This is the third round of investment in the history of the company, founded in 2016. GoTrendier is a pioneer in the category of buying and selling used clothing online among individuals in Latin America and its growth has been exponential since its launch, with more than 1.3M users. It currently has a catalog of 1.5M of garments valued at USD  $47.8 million. Buying on GoTrendier, women have been able to save USD $12 million and have avoided more than 1,000 tons of CO2 emissions.


“The online retail resale business has been very successful in Brazil, the US and Europe. The recent performance of GoTrendier reaffirms the great opportunity that Latin America represents. With our investment we reiterate our commitment to the prosperous future of GoTrendier”, said Christine Kenna, partner at IGNIA.

Executive Director, Belén Cabido stated, “this investment round is important to strengthen our position in the markets in which we operate and reinforces our commitment to a more responsible way of consuming fashion”.

About GoTrendier

GoTrendier is the largest e-commerce platform in Latin America for women who buy and sell used clothes through the app via mobile phones. It is currently present in Mexico and Colombia, and has 1.3 million users, who buy in the main markets of the region and sell what is no longer used through this platform, building a new more responsible and sustainable model of consumption.

About IGNIA

IGNIA is a venture capital fund that invests in high growth companies aimed at the emerging middle class in Mexico. Founded in 2007, IGNIA has two funds and USD 200 million in capital raised. IGNIA invests in sectors such as health, fintech, financial services, education and basic services. For more information please see: www.ignia.mx and @IGNIA_Fund.

About Antai

Antai Venture Builder is a digital business group, founded by Gerard Olivé and Miguel Vicente, who has created some of the most powerful online and mobile models in Europe and Latin America. Its main objective is to create and co-found products and services that have an impact on society, changing the way people consume and interact. The mission of Antai and its projects is to disrupt traditional industries and offer new consumer solutions, leveraging new technologies. Wallapop, Cornerjob, Deliberry, Glovo or BePretty are just some examples of some businesses created from Antai.

About Bonsai Venture Capital

Spanish venture capital with 18 years of experience investing in internet with one of the strongest track records in Spain with successes such as Infojobs, Softonic, Idealista, Tuenti, Wuaki, Bodas.net, Wallapop or Glovo.

About Banco Sabadell

Banco Sabadell is currently the fourth Spanish bank, with its more than 2,500 offices and approximately 26,000 employees. Its total assets now exceed 211,000 million euros. It operates in the Spanish financial market since 1881 and is a leading franchise for companies and entrepreneurs with international activity in 20 countries.

On January 4, 2016, the Bank obtained its license to operate as a financial entity in Mexico. Since then, in terms of portfolio growth related to corporate banking and corporate loans, it has significantly exceeded its volume growth forecast. In addition, together with SabCapital, they have placed loans for more than MXN $70,300 million to companies in the main industrial zones of the country. Likewise, it already has a prominent presence in the market, with branches in more than 13 key cities, such as Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara, León, Querétaro, Puebla, Mérida and Cancún, Naucalpan, Tijuana, Hermosillo, Culiacán and Chihuahua. For more information: http://www.bancosabadell.mx

About Ataria

Ataria Ventures offers a select group of qualified Latin American investors diversified access to technology companies with high potential in early stages of development around the world.

Read More
04 December
Press Release

UnDosTres, the digital platform for payments, raises USD $6.5M from IGNIA, Dalus Capital and InnoCells to accelerate its growth and expand its presence in Mexico

by igniapartners

Mexico City, [4] December 2018 – UnDosTres (https://www.undostres.com.mx/), the digital platform that allows its users to make online payments easily, instantaneously and safely, receives an investment co-led by IGNIA and Dalus Capital, as well as other investors including InnoCells, the corporate venture vehicle of Banco Sabadell.

The UnDosTres platform is available in Android, iOS, desktop, and mobile web, and its users can complete operations such as mobile top-ups, movie ticket purchases, toll charges, bill payments and transfers to other users.

The innovative solution offered by UnDosTres eliminates the inefficiencies related to the use of cash. Today, many Mexicans waste valuable time queueing to withdraw cash from ATMs and pay for services at banks and convenience stores. The use of cash also exposes them to loss and theft.

With UnDosTres, users can make their payments with a high level of efficiency and safety, thanks to the highly innovative anti-fraud technology used by the Company. This technology allows UnDosTres to offer a secure service without compromising the user experience with complex and delayed security processes.

The capital raised will allow UnDosTres to continue developing its platform and add new services available for payment. The Company’s vision is to create a payment ecosystem that is useful for any user at any time of day: whether paying for transportation in the morning or purchasing movie tickets on the weekend.

QUOTE IGNIA

“The digital payments sector represents a very attractive opportunity for Mexico and Latin America, regions where most transactions are still made in cash. The highly innovative UnDosTres solution has the potential to revolutionize the way Mexicans make payments every day, offering a platform that is intuitive, fast, and safe. Thanks to its qualifications and experience the UnDosTres team is seizing this opportunity taking advantage of favorable trends in relation to mobile and internet penetration in the country in order to become the leader in digital payments in Mexico” said Álvaro Rodríguez Arregui, founding partner of IGNIA.

QUOTE Dalus

“The UnDosTres’ team vision is to provide a convenient digital payment platform to a large majority of consumers in Mexico helping to significantly increase financial inclusion in the country. We are completely supporting this vision and very confident UnDosTres will achieve it.” said Diego Serebrisky, founding partner of Dalus Capital.

QUOTE InnoCells

“UnDosTres has an advanced and innovative payment platform, led by a team who have very differential visions and implementation capacities. UnDosTres resolves a real problem faced by Mexican users, offering a safe solution to increasing digital payment demand to acquire day to day services.” Adding that: “The investment in UnDosTres reaffirms Banco Sabadell’s commitment to satisfying and anticipating its customers’ needs in the Mexican market, which has significant growth and transformation potential”, highlighted Julio Martínez, Executive Director of InnoCells.

QUOTE UnDosTres

“UnDosTres’ mission is to make everyday payments seamless and easy. We are enabling every Mexican to pay anybody, for anything, at any time, with ease, speed and security, simply at the tap of a button. UnDosTres is building an ecosystem around payments that will drive consumption and advance financial inclusion. We are excited to partner with IGNIA, Dalus Capital and Banco Sabadell who have vast experience in the payments space.”

About IGNIA

IGNIA is a venture capital fund that invests in high growth companies aimed at the emerging middle class in Mexico. Founded in 2007, IGNIA has two funds and USD 200 million in capital raised. IGNIA invests in sectors such as health, fintech, financial services, education and basic services. For more information please see: www.ignia.mx and @IGNIA_Fund.

About Dalus Capital

Dalus Capital’s vision is to support the best entrepreneurs in Mexico and Latin America that are creating high-growth companies, based on innovative technologies or business models. Dalus Capital is a member of the Draper Venture Network (www.drapernetwork.com), an organization of independent investment funds from 4 continents which collaborate and co-invest in projects. Dalus Capital is led by Diego Serebrisky and Rogelio de los Santos, and has offices in Mexico City and Monterrey. More information is available at: www.daluscapital.com and @DalusCapital.

About InnoCells

InnoCells is the hub of digital ventures and corporate venture arm of Banco Sabadell. It puts together two ways of understanding business: the agility of the startup ecosystem and the experience of Banco Sabadell. InnoCells carries out direct retail investments and acquisitions, with the objective of moving closer to new digital business models and core capacities with a faster time-to-market, as well as investments in third party funds. More information at www.innocells.io/en/ and @InnoCells.

About UnDosTres

UnDosTres, is a technology company specialized in facilitating the payment of services through its online platform (available on Android, iOS, desktop, and mobile web). UnDosTres users can complete operations such as mobile top-ups, movie ticket purchases, top-ups of electronic toll collection services, and bill payments such as electricity and television. Users can do this instantaneously, anytime and anywhere through the application, with a high degree of security. For more information, see: www.undostres.com.mx.

 

Contact IGNIA

Mariana Márquez Castillo

Investor and Institutional Relations

Tel: +52 (55) 8000 7295

Email: mmc@ignia.mx

 

Contact Dalus Capital

Gabriel Estrada Escalante

Investment Team

Tel: +52 (55) 5001 8277

Email: gabriel@daluscapital.com

 

Contact InnoCells

Lorena Sánchez Campo

Brand & Comms Manager

Tel: +34 683385617

E-mail: lorena@innocells.io

 

Contact UnDosTres

Arpit Gupta

Co-founder

Email: arpit@undostres.com.mx

Read More
30 November
Press Release

Lentesplus.com, the leading e-commerce platform for contact lenses in Latin America, receives US$5 MM funding from Palm Drive Capital, IGNIA and InQlab to continue its regional expansion

by igniapartners

Mexico City November 30, 2018 – Lentesplus.com (www.lentesplus.com), a company that offers the most convenient and greatest value option to buy contact lenses, today announced the completion of its Series A round. Palm Drive Capital led this new round of financing along with existing investors IGNIA, InQlab, and other angels. The round has been structured in two closings, with US$3.8 MM committed in the first closing and US$1.2 MM expected in a second closing by the end of 2018. With this new round, the company has raised 9 million dollars in equity investments since its beginnings in 2014.

Seamon Chan, Managing Partner at Palm Drive Capital, stated, “With Lentesplus.com we see founders who are extremely dedicated to improving the consumer experience. Latin American consumers have been historically underserved and have had a lower contact lens usage relative to the rest of the world. By removing the friction and high-costs typically associated with purchasing contact lenses, Lentesplus.com is well-positioned to be a game changer and leader in reshaping Latin American commerce, in the same way that Jet.com and JD.com respectively did for the US and China”.

In a market where customers are traditionally required to physically go to an optical shop, paying prices as much as 3x higher than the US and facing limited inventory and availability, the Lentesplus.com platform allows customers to purchase contact lenses online simply, efficiently and more economically.

Headquartered in Bogotá, Lentesplus.com operates in Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Argentina. The company’s streamlined process allows for short delivery times (same day delivery in major cities) and seamless customer service, while offering competitive prices and a complete product offering via its digital platform. In LATAM, where 43% of the population suffers from some form of visual problem and requires eye care services, Lentesplus.com is bringing an innovative and highly convenient alternative service to the traditional market.

“We have seen the Lentesplus.com team consistently execute, develop and improve a world-class platform and service that delights customers. We are thrilled to participate in this next phase of growth, and look forward to working alongside new investors, Palm Drive, and incorporating their deep sector experience”, commented Christine Kenna, Partner at IGNIA.

“We are glad to continue supporting Lentesplus.com in its path of growth with old and new partners who add value to the company”, said Gregorio Márquez, Director at InQlab.

Jaime Oriol, Co-Founder of Lentesplus.com, said, “we enthusiastically welcome Palm Drive on board and are grateful for the support of our investors to support our international expansion”.

 

Read More
26 September
Press Release

IGNIA leads a Series A investment round in Kinedu to accelerate growth and expand into new markets

by igniapartners

Mexico City, September 26, 2018 – Kinedu (https://www.kinedu.com), an early childhood development (ECD) application for parents and caretakers headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico, received new investment through a Series A round led by IGNIA, a major VC fund in Mexico, along with BeCurious Partners, an international fund focused on parenting, the Stanford-StartX Fund, Dila Capital, Promotora Social México, and Stella Maris.

The Kinedu platform, available on web, iOS, and Android, encourages and facilitates the early development of children during their first years through daily activities that are personalized by age and development stage. Parents can easily monitor the progress of their kids, thanks to insightful and data-driven reports generated by the app. All content and material is supported by academic research through partnerships with ECD experts such as Frontiers of Innovation Community hosted by Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child, and prof. Michael Frank from Stanford University, thereby creating a trustworthy solution for parents. The application is available for users in either free or paid (premium) subscription formats.

Kinedu’s competitive advantage lies in the centralization of all the necessary tools that parents need to optimize the development of their kids from ages 0 to 2. Current resources available for parents, such as those found on the web or through professionals are complex, spread out, and difficult to process. Kinedu solves these problems by supporting parents with original and personalized content, so that they can become effective guides for their children during this critical stage of development.

The capital raised will allow Kinedu to develop new content to attend ages 2-4, consolidate its presence in the United States and Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, and expand into new markets such as Brazil.

Kinedu was launched in November of 2013 and since then the app has been downloaded by almost 2 million users in over 180 countries. Growee, Kinedu’s most recent offering that provides management tools for daycare centers and kindergartens, has more than 6,000 active users on the platform and has grown more than 10x in the last 12 months.

Since Kinedu began, leading accelerators and universities have recognized the company for its disruptive innovation in Early Childhood Technology. The company is part of the Endeavor, Promise Venture Studios, and Stanford-StartX entrepreneur networks, won the Harvard Business School New Venture competition for LATAM in 2013, was one of the prize winners for the Gary Community – Open IDEO Early Childhood Innovation global competition, and was selected by the Apple Store in 2015 and 2016 as the app that is most “worth downloading” in Latin America.

“Education technology is a very attractive sector, with a global market over US$20 billion. Millennials, who represent 90% of new parents, are willing to invest more in the education of their children, and demand personalized, high quality content. Kinedu’s extremely qualified team, led by Luis Garza, is creating a world class product that will impact the development of future generations”, commented Christine Kenna, Partner at IGNIA.

“Since we began Kinedu, we´ve seen a trend in parents across the world who want to learn more about their babies’ development, and want to understand how they can help their babies grow. Kinedu hopes to scale all over the world and empower parents in every corner of the world to give their children the best start to life possible” commented Luis Garza, Kinedu´s founder and CEO

Read More
19 June
Press Release

IGNIA and Antai Venture Builder invest in Trendier to fuel growth of Mexico´s largest digital fashion marketplace for secondhand clothing

by igniapartners

Mexico City, June 19, 2018 – Trendier (https://www.trendier.com),the leading mobile fashion platform in Mexico and Colombia, raised significant capital from global investors IGNIA, Antai Venture Builder, Pedralbes Partners, Bonsai Venture Capital, and Banco Sabadell, that will enable the company to deepen its local reach and expand to other countries in Latin American.

With more than 1 million active users, Trendier is the leading online community for the sale and purchase of affordable fashion in both Mexico and Colombia. The platform has become a community of “fashionistas” who, through the application on their mobile phone, buy and sell clothes they do not use with just three simple clicks.

“The online retail resale business has already been very successful in Brazil, the U.S., and Europe and the method is highly scalable, addressing an enormous market that is growing exponentially. We are very enthusiastic about Trendier´s future given the expert team and investors, and their commitment to bring a new solution to the Mexican consumer”, said Christine Kenna, Partner at IGNIA.

Trendier´s platform, backed by superior technology and a world-class team, allows users to transact easily, from any place, quickly and securely. Using only a cellphone, one can upload a new item to sell including pictures, a description and price within a mater of minutes. For a buyer, Trendier´s platform offers personalized content for each user based on her activity, purchases, and interests. The income generated by the sales can be loaded into a wallet that can be used to buy on Trendier, or be exchanged for cash.

“Trendier represents where the future of consumerism is headed – both Colombia and Mexico are countries that generate a lot of interest for their high growth, sophisticated use of smartphones and their ‘early adopter’ characteristics, adding quickly to the use of new smartphone applications”, mentioned Kenna.

 “Trendier is a very powerful social media and has had very good traction in Mexico and Colombia. Users enjoy the platform experience, buying clothes at discounted prices, and selling the items they don’t use, and building a more sustainable model of consumption”, said Gerard Olivé, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Antai Venture Buider.

 “Trendier is revolutionizing online fashion shopping, permitting a longer life to clothes through new life cycles for secondhand items. The fact that our users love the platform,coupled with recent changes in online shopping behaviors, helped Trendier generate industry leading customer repurchase rates and engagement levels. We have become the biggest sustainable fashion community in LATAM”, said Belen Cabido, CEO de Trendier.

 

 

 

Read More
16 May
Press Release

Virket, the digital solutions powerhouse that helps local businesses to successfully digitize at scale, raises capital from IGNIA to accelerate its growth.

by igniapartners

Mexico City, May 16, 2018 – Virket (www.virket.com), the company that offers a complete set of digital solutions for local businesses to be successful online receives financing from the venture capital fund IGNIA.

As technology becomes more accessible and ubiquitous, there is an unprecedented massive opportunity for an underserved growing market of 30 million Hispanic and Latin American SMBs to compete online and conquer a smarter and connected consumer in the “age of the customer”.

This market however, has struggled to adopt digital technologies by themselves due to limited bandwidth, budget and experience. Having delivered over 500,000 digital solutions, Virket has a proven track record on successfully digitizing the SMB ecosystem at scale.

Virket offers “all-in-one” digital solutions that combines DIY technology (SaaS) with DIFM services (SwaS) to help small / local businesses grow, manage and track their performance online in an effective, practical and accessible way.

Virket’s digital solutions integrate a complete suite of technologies including web presence, e-commerce, directory listings, social media, local SEO, lead generation ad campaigns, mobile apps, marketing automation & CRM tools, business intelligence dashboards, and big data / predictive analytics capabilities.

In order to reach a massive market, Virket works on digital transformation with a network of large enterprise channel partners in various industries, by providing them with white-label value added services and technology to digitize their SMB customers / franchisees / multi-location stores / distributors at scale.

These channel partners are typically leading brands in their respective sectors, such as directories, registrars, marketplaces, telcos, media, IT / software, MLM / direct selling, retail, franchises, real estate, among others.

To be able to operate efficiently, Virket uses a combination of third-party platforms and proprietary technology, to integrate its product offering and to automate its business processes, optimized progressively through machine learning and artificial intelligence, allowing the delivery of solutions at scale and very competitive costs.

Headquartered in Mexico, Virket has already achieved important recognition in the sector with several awards by having the largest digital footprint in its market, and its aiming now to disrupt the entire Hispanic SMB ecosystem in a renewed development phase.

“We are very enthusiastic about our investment in Virket as we see the real commitment, expertise and track record of Pedro’s team, and are convinced of the vital service they offer for SMBs in the digital era. With +20% compounded annual growth in the Latam SMB cloud services market, we see hundreds of thousands of companies that will be able to benefit from their products and services” commented Álvaro Rodriguez Arregui, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of IGNIA.

“We are committed to fulfilling our mission of digitizing the Hispanic local businesses with scalable digital solutions, with IGNIA’s investment and support, we will accelerate our path to achieve this vision” said Pedro Quinzaños Cancino, Founder & CEO of Virket. 

About IGNIA

IGNIA is a venture capital fund that invests in high growth companies aimed at the emerging middle class in Mexico. Founded in 2007, IGNIA has two funds and USD 200 million in capital raised. IGNIA invests in sectors such as health, fintech, financial services, education and basic services. For more information please see: http://www.ignia.mx and @IGNIA_Fund.

About VIRKET

VIRKET is a digital technology and services powerhouse that delivers local business success at scale. With more than 500,000 digital solutions delivered over 20 countries, VIRKET has a proven track record since 2009 on successfully digitizing the local business ecosystem across the U.S. Hispanic and Latin America markets through a network of large enterprise Channel Partners in various sectors. For more information, please see: www.virket.com

 

Read More
18 April
Press Release

CAMIF II closes investment and buys IGNIA’s participation in sustainable tuna producer in Mexico

by igniapartners

Washington, DC / Mexico City, (March 23, 2018) – LAP Latin American Partners LLC (LAP) and IGNIA
announced the completion of a mezzanine investment by the Central American Mezzanine Infrastructure
Fund II LP (CAMIF II) in Procesamiento Especializado de Alimentos S.A.P.I. (Grupo Procesa), a vertically
integrated tuna producer and market leader in its main segment which began operating in Chiapas,
Mexico in 2003. As part of the transaction, CAMIF II acquired IGNIA’s entire participation in Grupo Procesa.
LAP is the Fund Manager of CAMIF II.

This investment provides CAMIF II with exposure to the strong Mexican tuna market, where Grupo
Procesa is well-placed for growth through a wide range of existing and future tuna products. The company
co-founded The Pacific Alliance for Sustainable Tuna, which recently became certified by the Marine
Stewardship Council for their well-managed and sustainable fishery practices.

“We are certain LAP will bring great value to Grupo Procesa in this next stage, and that it will be a
successful investment, as it was for IGNIA. This exit is an excellent announcement for our investors, and
for the market, since it proves the ability of mexican companies to innovate, create value and achieve
solid growth on their markets” commented Christine Kenna, Partner at IGNIA.

“We’re excited to accompany Grupo Procesa’s talented management team on its path towards further
growth in the dynamic Mexican tuna market,” said James Martin, Partner at Washington, DC-based LAP.
“This transaction shows the wide array of opportunities available in Latin America. In LAP our commitment
is to fuel growth in the region through investments in companies with high potential,” added Teseo
Bergoglio, Partner at LAP.

About LAP

LAP is an SEC registered private fund manager dedicated to Latin America whose team has invested and
is currently managing the Central American Mezzanine Infrastructure Fund (CAMIF I) and CAMIF II, funds
focused in the northern part of Latin America. LAP’s headquarters are in Washington, DC, and is supported
by investment professionals located throughout Mexico and Central America. For inquiries please contact
us at info@lapfunds.com or +1 (202) 530-3180.

About CAMIF II

CAMIF II, a US$188.2 million investment fund, invests and offers financing to private infrastructure
companies and projects in Central America, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Colombia. The Fund is currently
actively identifying investment opportunities in traditional infrastructure, such as power (generation,
transmission, distribution and renewable energy), transportation (railroads, toll roads, airports, ports,
cargo terminals and other logistics), telecommunication, and water & sanitation. In addition, CAMIF II can
invest in natural resources (including agribusiness and other selected sub-sectors), health & education,
and in select other sectors such as housing, real estate, industrial parks, manufacturing, and tourism
among other sectors.

About IGNIA

IGNIA is a venture capital fund manager that invests in high growth companies aimed at the emerging
middle class in Mexico. Founded in 2007, IGNIA manages two funds for a total of US$200 million. IGNIA
invests in sectors such as health, fintech, financial services, education, and basic services. For more
information please see: http://www.ignia.mx and @IGNIA_Fund

Read More
15 March
Press Release

IGNIA, Amex Ventures and ALLVP Participate in Visor’s Fundraising Round to Expand SME Lending Platform

by igniapartners

Mexico City, March 15, 2018 – Visor (visor.io) (visoradl.com), the state-of-the-art fintech platform for delivering financing to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), announced today that a group of venture capital funds, including lead investor IGNIA and co-investors American Express Ventures and ALLVP, are participating in a fundraising round, which will help the company expand its platform.

Visor operates a scalable digital platform that provides financial institutions with reliable, dynamic information about the financial health of SMEs, enabling lenders to make more informed lending decisions and underwrite prospective borrowers they might have previously turned down for financing. Visor’s platform uses proprietary credit and sales algorithms to build SME profiles based on data compiled automatically from sources including Sistema de Administracion Tributaria (SAT), the federal tax agency of Mexico, financial statements and other sources. The platform benefits multiple parties by:

  • Reducing loan-origination costs and enabling more effective cross-selling for lenders.
  • Delivering valuable insights to corporate clients about SMEs’ supplier and distributor relationships, which can help corporates create their own financing options and payment plans for their SME partners.
  • Providing more affordable financing options to SMEs that may have previously struggled to obtain loans due to a lack of a traditional credit history.

Visor’s platform also provides SMEs with business and financing recommendations, as well as tools to help them strengthen and grow their business.

Founded in November 2015, Visor is headquartered in Mexico City and also has an office in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

“It fills us with enthusiasm and a great sense of responsibility to have received a vote of confidence from investors as savvy as IGNIA, Amex Ventures and ALLVP. It tells us that they believe we will succeed in our mission to contribute via our platform, to develop our economy by helping SMEs access financing, grow their business with large corporations and manage themselves better,” said Ruben Sanchez Souza, CEO of Visor ADL.

“The innovative technology developed by Visor makes it very easy to use for SMEs, large companies and financial institutions. We are very proud to partner with this team and to work together on improving access to credit to SMEs. More access to credit will help grow the thousands of financially healthy SMEs that constitute the main driver for our economies in Latin America,” said Álvaro Rodríguez Arregui, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of IGNIA.

“Visor’s platform provides lenders with a fuller picture of a prospective business borrower’s financial health, giving SMEs more opportunities to secure credit and lenders greater ability to expand their customer base,” said Harshul Sanghi, Managing Partner of Amex Ventures, the strategic investment arm of American Express. “We are excited to support Visor in its mission as it helps SMEs in Mexico overcome some of the biggest challenges they face obtaining affordable financing.”

“Closing the SME credit penetration gap in Mexico is one of the largest venture opportunities in Latin America. Distinctively passionate and experienced co-founders, Ruben Sanchez Souza, Jean-Bernard Rolland and Francisco Álvarez have created a unique technology that can potentially solve this problem,” explains Federico Antoni, Managing Partner at ALLVP.

 

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20 February
Press Release

DogHero, the online platform that connects dog owners with loving dog hosts, receives an investment from a group of venture capital funds in order to expand and reach new markets starting with Mexico

by igniapartners

São Paolo, February 20, 2018 – DogHero (www.doghero.com.br), the São Paolo-based peer-to-peer pet boarding marketplace that provides a safe, transparent and easy solution for dog owners looking for dog boarding, received an investment from IGNIA, Kaszek Ventures, Monashees and Global Founders Capital.

DogHero is revolutionizing the pet-boarding market by providing owners with access to a large community of user-validated hosts, while allowing dog enthusiasts to generate extra income by doing something they love. The innovative platform is built around simplicity of use with intuitive tools including host search by location & price, and online booking functionality. In addition, the company creates a safe and trustworthy environment by performing a screening process for host applicants (only 20% of the applicants are approved), enabling seamless communication between dog owners and hosts, and providing community validation of hosts through its review system. The service also includes veterinary insurance for emergencies.

DogHero, founded in 2014, currently operates in Brazil and Argentina. The company is preparing to launch its operations in Mexico in the next couple of months, with the goal of eventually offering its services throughout Latin America.

“With 110 million dogs in Latin América, there is clearly a huge market for dog boarding in our region. We are excited about supporting Eduardo Baer and his highly qualified team; they have managed a steady growth since beginning operations and they are committed to client satisfaction through constant improvement in their offer” – said Álvaro Rodríguez Arregui, co-founder and managing partner of IGNIA.

“We are very glad to support DogHero, a protagonist in the Latam sharing economy with an outstanding team. Latam countries, particularly Brazil, are fantastic markets for pet services and goods” – said Fabricio Pettená, Director Latam of Global Founders Capital.

“They are building a vibrant community and a beloved brand. Customers love the service: 98% of them recommend DogHero to friends and family” – said Carlo Dapuzzo, partner at Monashees. 

“We are amazed by the team’s execution, building a solid business while helping an increasing number of traveling families to find loving homes for their dogs” – said Nicolas Berman, partner at Kaszek Ventures.

 

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17 January
Press Release

Regalii, the custom API interface that centralizes consumer financial data and activity for banks, fintech and consumers, raises capital to pursue its expansion

by igniapartners

New York, January 16, 2018 – Regalii (https://www.regalii.com), a NYC-based fintech company offering a white label bill payments platform to financial institutions (banks and fintech’s), receives an investment from IGNIA and several venture capital funds.

Regalii offers financial institutions a white label API that enables customers to pay all their bills on a single platform in real-time. By aggregating bills and providing a central record for cards, addresses, and settings, the platform significantly improves the experience of paying bills. The API allows financial institutions to offer new services while gaining access to customers’ spending habits, including utilities, cell phones, loans, credit cards, and subscriptions.

Regalii, created in 2013 and launched in Y-Combinator now powers over 30 of the world leading remittance companies, banks and mobile wallets across 11 countries, with a physical presence in NYC, Mexico City and Toronto.

Regalii is backed by leading venture capital funds such as Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, Kapor, Maverick, Capricorn, Winklevoss Capital, and Y-Combinator.

“We are in the digital era and payments generally still need up to 3 days to be processed. There is clearly a need for new technologies in the banking system at a time where banks have client retention challenges, and customers need quicker, more efficient and convenient ways to organize their finances. We are thrilled to partner with Regalii in the bill payment market as we share the vision and are convinced of the huge market opportunity” said Álvaro Rodríguez Arregui, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of IGNIA.

“Today, there is no single standard for data exchange on consumers’ financial liabilities (ie, credit cards, bills, loans). This hinders both financial institutions and consumers,

especially the 80% of consumers who pay their bills on a month-to-month basis. Because consumers today favor convenience over loyalty, banks are losing digital business to fintech competitors while simultaneously fintench is having trouble breaking the stronghold of traditional banking. The fact that consumers can access all their financials easily and securely through their primary financial institution via the Regalii API makes loyalty to a single financial institution possible again.” said Regalii CEO Edrizio de la Cruz.

 

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