Prosus Ventures invested USD200m in follow-on financing in Brazil-based internet holding Movile. The capital will go towards expanding Movile’s companies, including iFood, MovilePay, Zoop and Mensajeros Urbanos.
(LABS News) The Brazilian Movile, one of Latin America’s leading companies accelerators, announced the biggest investment in its history: a $200 million round led by Prosus, a global consumer internet group and one of the largest technology investors in the world. Prosus also has been a Movile investor since 2008 and is its majority shareholder. Movile Group companies include iFood, Sympla, MovilePay, Zoop, PlayKids, Afterverse, Mensajeros Urbanos and Moova.
The newly raised capital will go towards expanding Movile’s current companies, including the Brazilian iFood, MovilePay and Zoop (both fintechs); and Mensajeros Urbanos, a Colombia-based logistics company that is also growing fast in Mexico and other Latin America countries. Movile does not reveal how much will be invested in each company.
According to Patrick Hruby, CEO of Movile, the company is optimistic about the innovation ecosystem in Latin America and plans to invest in new startups in the region. “We still have a lot of opportunities in the region, especially if you compare it to other markets such as India and China. There is a consumer market that is hungry for innovative solutions and which we are looking at very closely. We are always with an eye on trends and closely monitor the development of several sectors to understand where to invest.”
Logistics, fintechs and games
In the wake of a series of more than 30 deals in the last three years, Movile’s main focus is currently on logistics, fintechs and games avenues. Here is why.
The bet in the logistics sector – and the race for faster delivery – is due to the rise of e-commerce in Latin America in 2020, resulting in the need for more and better logistics offerings. Movile also recently invested in Moova, a digital logistics platform and delivery service in urban markets headquartered in Argentina.
Fintechs have received the largest volume of investments in Latin America in recent years. Aware of this and the growth of the banking and financial services sector, Movile created a formal division, including MovilePay and Zoop, which received a BRL 170 million round from Movile, as part of the new funding by Prosus. Also, recently, a joint initiative between the two launched the iFood Digital Account, developed by MovilePay and built with technology by Zoop.
“We intend to act more and more with embedded finance, as we believe that all companies, whether consumer, transport, retail, food and from the most diverse segments, will be able to offer services and financial products to their customers,” explained Hruby.
Movile also focuses on the gaming segment with PlayKids and Afterverse, the gaming brand born within PlayKids, which achieved impressive growth during the pandemic. Movile owns and operates the PK XD and Crafty Lands titles and reaches 50 million players per month, growing quickly into a major global gaming company with players in more than 180 countries.
“Afterverse began as a PlayKids innovation cell and achieved quick success, so it now operates independently. It has high potential to become one of the group’s major success stories,” said Hruby.
Headquartered in Brazil, in the last three years, Movile reported that has achieved average annual revenue growth of 80%. The company and its affiliates employ more than 5,000 people around the world who are specialists in finance, management, culture and innovation.