As 2021 is wrapping up, we reflect on what has been the most eventful year for the VC Ecosystem in Latam, with record-high investment from global players in the Region. We would like to share this article from Pitchbook, “Why 2021 was a breakout year for Latin America’s VC ecosystem”, that includes a quote from our own Partner, Fabrice Serfati.
We are proud to be part of the VC Ecosystem’s evolution in the Region and excited for what is to come. The time is now to invest in Latam!
We are proud to announce that IGNIA has successfully sold its stake in Arcus to global payments processor Mastercard (Find BusinessWire article here). IGNIA initially invested in Arcus’s Series A-1 and led their Series A-3. This transaction represents a successful exit for the Fund.
IGNIA continues to support leading tech entrepreneurs, playing an important role in consolidating the Fintech ecosystem in Latin America. We are proud of the strong network of outstanding entrepreneurs looking to create value and disruption in the region, that have trusted us to continue building partnerships. It’s been an honor to partner with Co-Founders Iñigo Rumayor and Edrizio de la Cruz, and the amazing team they have built.
This has enabled IGNIA to yield attractive returns to our investors, placing us among the top 5% of global venture capital funds.
Mountain View-based cryptobank Abra has announced the closing of their Series C led by IGNIA, through an SPV (See Fortune article here). The Company raised $55MM from IGNIA, Blockchain Capital, Lerer Hippeau, American Express Ventures, Stellar Development Foundation, Kingsway Capital, and Tiga Investments at a $340MM post-money valuation. IGNIA initially invested in Abra’s Pre-Series B Round and has played a key role in the Company’s expansion in Latin America as the only investor from the Region. Abra has had a significant growth in the past year becoming a leading wealth management platform for crypto investing. IGNIA is immensely proud to be partnered with Abra in this journey to revolutionize the cryptoasset and finance industries. Congratulations to Bill Barhydt (Founder & CEO) and the entire Abra team.
Abra was founded in 2014 in Mountain View, California and has rapidly grown to become a full scale cryptobank, offering trading, borrowing and interest earning capabilities on cryptoassets. The Company has experienced exponential growth, by July 2021, Abra revenues are 4 times the 2020 annual total, and is up to over $1 BN in AUM, as they continue to add new features, providing a safe and secure platform to manage crypto. Abra operates in over 100+ countries around the globe.
Petlove has announced the closing of their Series D for US$150 MM (See TechCrunch article here), a round led by Riverwood Capital, with participation from SoftBank, L Catterton, Monashees, and IGNIA though an SPV. IGNIA is immensely proud to be part of Petlove’s recent journey. Petlove has had an incredible trajectory in the past years, looking to form the largest pet-care ecosystem in Latin America, a vision that IGNIA stands behind and will continue to support. IGNIA initially invested in Petlove in late 2020 though the Company’s acquisition of DogHero.
Founded in 1999, Petlove has become the leading pet-related e-commerce platform in Brazil, the fourth largest pet market globally. The Company has continued to expand their service offerings, having recently acquired DogHero, Vetus and VetSmart.
Congratulations to the entire Petlove team on this outstanding round. IGNIA is excited to see what the future holds for Petlove.
We are proud to announce that IGNIA has successfully sold its stake in Sr. Pago to Mexican fintech Konfío. Having led Sr. Pago’s Pre-Series A, this transaction represents a 46% IRR for our investors and a very successful exit for the Fund.
IGNIA played an important role in the growth process, proving our ability to add value as a strategic partner to our portfolio companies.
We are committed to partnering with leading tech entrepreneurs solving fundamental issues for the emerging middle class in Latin America and our returns have placed us among the top 5% of global venture capital funds.
Tiendanube announced the closing of their Series E round for US$500 MM at a valuation of US$3.1 BN (see TechCrunch article here), a round led by Tiger Global and Insight Partners. IGNIA is proud to be part of this incredible journey alongside Tiendanube, achieving an important milestone for the VC ecosystem in Latin America as a newly minted unicorn. The team, led by Santiago Sosa (Co-Founder & CEO), has had an outstanding trajectory during the past 11 years, testament to IGNIA’s strategy of partnering with leading tech entrepreneurs solving Latin America’s most fundamental issues.
Founded in 2010 in Brazil and Argentina, Tiendanube (known as Nuvemshop in Brazil) is one of Latin America’s leading e-commerce solution platforms. Their top-notch technology allows SMBs to set up and manage their own online stores, integrating full-scale payment and fulfillment capacities.
Congratulations to the entire team, we are very excited about Tiendanube’s future!
Mexico’s Leading SMB Financial Management SaaS to Join SUMA’s Global Platform
Mexico City, January 28, 2021. SUMA SaaS Holdings has announced the acquisition of Bind ERP, one of the leading providers of cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions in Mexico, as part of its regional expansion and building upon its vision of empowering millions of small business owners in Latin America via simple, intuitive, world-class financial management Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). The acquisition will provide SUMA with a leading position in Mexico, a country with over 4 million small businesses operating in a highly connected economy.Bind ERP enables small and medium business (SMB) owners to manage their operations online, improve financial visibility and collaborate with their accountants all in one place allowing them to make better business decisions. In a country where 52% of the GDP and 72% of its employment is generated by SMBs, the company serves thousands of clients, supporting their growth by up to 50%. As SMBs have increasingly moved to remote work due to the pandemic, Bind ERP provides business continuity and productivity for its clients.
In 2020 the company launched Bind para Contadores, a cloud platform that enables accounting firms to perform work for their clients in minutes instead of days, serve significantly more clients with the same capacity, and access a new universe of potential customers. Having accountants and business owners working together on the same platform drives greater efficiency and unprecedented growth opportunities for both parties.
“We are very excited to partner with SUMA to promote our shared vision, enhancing the lives and finances of small businesses, through incredible technology and exceptional service. We are confident that together, we can help promote the growth, expansion and digital inclusion of entrepreneurs throughout Latin America,” said Alejandro Bonilla, the CEO of Bind ERP.
Fabrice Serfati, partner at IGNIA mentioned, “We are very fortunate to have been one of Bind ERP’s earliest backers, having initially invested in 2017 in the company’s Series A round, we were consistent with our belief of partnering with entrepreneurs in building solid digital platforms that have a positive impact for Mexican SMEs. We have enjoyed working alongside Bind ERP’s CEO, Alejandro Bonilla, as the company’s monthly recurring revenue grew more than three times since the beginning of our partnership. This acquisition marks another exit from IGNIA’s portfolio of tech-enabled solutions for the emerging middle class in Latin America.”
With more than 100,000 small businesses already supported, SUMA has become Spanish-speaking Latin America’s largest and fastest-growing financial management automation platform, now operating in Chile via Nubox, Argentina, via Colppy, and Mexico via Bind ERP. SUMA backer Riverwood Capital committed additional capital in order to fund the transaction.
Matthew Cole, CEO of SUMA, concluded, “We are enthusiastic about the potential for Bind ERP to join SUMA in our mission to digitize and enhance the operations of millions of SMBs in Latin America. As part of SUMA’s global platform, Bind can accelerate its growth and product development to cement its position as the market standard in Mexico.”
About Bind ERP
Founded in 2014 by entrepreneurs Alejandro Bonilla and Eliezer Garza, Bind ERP is the most practical and modern administration and billing system in the cloud for SMBs in Mexico. The Monterrey, Mexico-based company is committed to promoting the use of these technologies to increase productivity and drive growth for its clients. For more information, please visit: bind.com.mx
About IGNIA
IGNIA is a cross-border early-stage venture capital firm, investing in world-class tech entrepreneurs who are solving pain points faced by the emerging middle class in Latin America (Latam). IGNIA serves as a bridge for international companies coming to Mexico and Latam and supports high-growth Latam-based startups in industries ranging from fintech, digital commerce, SaaS, marketplaces, and the future of retail. Learn more about our investments at ignia.vc, and check-out our resources for entrepreneurs at igniaunlocked.vc.
About SUMA
With more than 100,000 small businesses already supported, SUMA (www.sumasaas.com) has become Spanish Speaking Latin America’s largest and fastest-growing financial management automation platform. Developed for the unique administrative and regulatory requirements of entrepreneurs and small business owners, SUMA simplifies and automates key business tasks such as: accounting, payroll and electronic invoicing. SUMA´s platform allows customers to easily integrate their business information with a variety of counterparties in the ecosystem: customers, suppliers, employees, banks, accountants, regulatory agencies, and sources of potential financing via a simple, easy-to-use, intuitive user-interface and world-class customer service. SUMA is backed by Riverwood Capital, a private equity firm focused on high-growth technology and technology-related companies in need of capital and expertise to scale on a global basis.
Ciudad de México, al 19 de enero de 2021. IGNIA y Nexxus Capital (“Nexxus”) anuncian que han llevado a cabo una alianza estratégica, a través de la cual Nexxus tendrá una participación accionaria en el General Partner (GP) de IGNIA, administrador enfocado en Venture Capital. Esta alianza, aprovechará la experiencia y habilidades probadas de ambas firmas en sus respectivas clases de activos para seguir apoyando el crecimiento de capital emprendedor en América Latina, que ha mostrado una tasa de crecimiento anual del 86% de 2013 a 2019.
La experiencia compartida de los dos administradores de fondos fortalece a ambas organizaciones para lograr mejores rendimientos para sus inversionistas.
El cofundador y socio director de IGNIA, Álvaro Rodríguez, comentó: “Nexxus es el fondo más exitoso y con mayor experiencia en México. Su entrada al GP de IGNIA es un aval a nuestras capacidades como un fondo de VC de primer nivel y una declaración que subraya el potencial de VC en la región. En los últimos años esta clase de activo ha logrado un avance increíble y llama la atención a nivel internacional por su muy alto crecimiento sostenido. Estamos entusiasmados de ser el socio indicado para Nexxus y con esto fortalecer nuestra firma y acercarlos al futuro de la economía digital de América Latina, aprovechando nuestra experiencia en inversiones en soluciones habilitadas por la tecnología”.
Arturo Saval, presidente del consejo de Nexxus, comentó: “Esta alianza permitirá a Nexxus seguir diversificándose en distintas clases de activos a través de un equipo dedicado, enfocado, reconocido y con más de 10 años de experiencia en Venture Capital. Para Nexxus es muy relevante continuar con nuestra evolución y esta alianza complementa nuestra visión y la detección de oportunidades tanto en el entorno local como en el internacional. Estamos seguros, que a través de la experiencia de IGNIA y de participar a través de ellos en los mercados de Venture Capital, podremos seguir creciendo y mejorando para salvaguardar los intereses de quienes nos otorgan su confianza.”.
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Acerca de Ignia
IGNIA es el fondo de inversión de venture capital más grande de México, enfocado en el apoyo a emprendimientos en cualquier industria y etapa de desarrollo, que cuenten con una propuesta de valor que cambie su forma de hacer negocios. Fue fundado por Álvaro Rodríguez y Michael Chu en 2007, y ha invertido en más de 20 empresas de industrias como fintech, retail, educación y e-commerce. Para más información, visite http://www.ignia.vc
Acerca de Nexxus
Nexxus es uno de los principales administradores en Capital Privado en México y España. Hasta el fin del 2020, Nexxus ha realizado 41 inversiones, incluyendo 9 financiamientos otorgados a través de Nexxus Mezzanine Fund I, y 7 inversiones en España y Portugal a través de Nexxus Iberia I, con equipos dedicados; Así mismo, Nexxus ha desinvertido totalmente de 14 empresas de su portafolio habiendo también completado ciclos de 3 fondos. Nexxus ha levantado y administrado siete fondos con compromisos de capital y coinversiones acumulados por más de $1,630 millones de dólares, y es el único administrador de activos alternos en Latino América que ha listado seis compañías en los mercados de valores.
Para más información favor de visitar http://www.ignia.vc, http://www.nexxuscapital.com o contactar a:
Christine Chang
Relación con inversionistas
ccc@ignia.vc
info@ignia.vc
(81) 8000-7164
Christianne Ibanez
Relación con inversionistas
cibanez@nexxuscapital.com
ir@nexxuscapital.com
(55) 5292-3400
Today, Rapyd announced that it has raised US$300MM of capital in its Series D (see TechCrunch article here). IGNIA is proud to be the only Mexico-based fund among Rapyd’s investors. The success of CEO and co-founder Arik Shtilman and his team are a testament to our strategy of investing in and collaborating with the world’s best tech entrepreneurs looking to enter Mexico and Latin America.
Founded in 2016, Rapyd is one of the largest global payment networks. The Tel-Aviv based company offers fintech-as-a-service to facilitate the integration of local transactions capabilities with global e-commerce platforms. The company offers four principal solutions including Rapyd Collect, Rapyd Disburse, Rapyd Wallet and Rapyd Issuing.
