Here are the highlights on Brazil’s tech and business scene in April:
April 24
“A reassuring physical presence and fast-growing online sales have vaulted Magazine Luiza into the upper echelons of Brazilian e-commerce, lifting shares over 500% last year and 20% so far in 2018. The company is relying on deep roots in its home turf to survive an assault by Amazon.”
April 23
Brazil’s initial public offering market busiest days in seven years, with three IPOs expected in a week after Notre Dame Intermedica Participacoes’s successful debut – shares of Brazilian health insurer surged 19%. Healthcare operator Hapvida Participacoes e Investimentos is expected to follow. Other upcoming IPOs include fintech Banco Inter and shoe retailer Dass Nordeste Calcados e Artigos Esportivos.
April 19
Valor Capital Group has raised US$56.8 million toward a US$100 million second venture capital fund. The firm focuses on Brazilian and U.S. startups.
April 17
London-based Santander InnoVentures made its first investment in Brazil: Creditas, digital-first secured lending platform. The Series-C funding round of US$ 55 million was led by Vostok Emerging Finance and also count on the participation of Amadeus Capital Partners. Current investors include Kaszek Ventures, Quona Capital, QED Investors, IFC and Naspers Fintech.
April 13
Magnetis Investimentos raised R$ 17 million in round (series A). The investors were the venture capital funds Vostok Emerging Finance and Monashees. Investors from the previous round also participated: Redpoint e.ventures and angel investors.
April 15
Anderson Thees, Founding Partner of Redpoint eventures and BayBrazil Board member, talked about the São Paulo ecosystem of startups, the promising sectors for 2018 and what matters in a startup for his VC firm.
April 8
Descomplica, an online classroom in Brazil, raised an investment of US$ 20 million from foreign investment funds. The platform has already received U$ 34 million of investments.
April 6
FinanZero, the marketplace of Credit in Brazil, received an investment of R$ 12 million. The “Series A” round was led by the Swedish Vostok Emerging Finance fund with the participation of other Swedish investors, including Webrock Ventures and Zentro.
April 4
Yellow, a Brazil-based mobility startup, just raised a US$9 million seed round for its dockless bike-share service. Yellow founders are Ariel Lambrecht and Renato Freitas, who sold their ride-share company 99 to Didi in a US$1 billion deal earlier this year.
April 3
ContaAzul, a pioneer and leader in Cloud Accounting Platforms in Brazil, received a new round of equity investment of approximately US$ 30 million led by Tiger Global Management, which first invested in ContaAzul in 2015 and is now expanding its stake in the company. Endeavor Catalyst has also participated in the round.