LAVCA’s 2020 Latin American Startup Directory profiles 126 startups that raised at least US$1m in verified financing in 2019, a year of record venture investment in the region, with US$4.6b deployed. 

This group includes 75 startups that raised their first disclosed institutional capital in 2019, as well as startups that raised at least US$1m (and up to US$1b) in follow-on financing in 2019, including unicorns Gympass, Loft, Loggi, Nubank, Quinto Andar, and Rappi. 

 

Startups that cashed up in 2019 have an advantage approaching the C19 crisis and the uncertainty of 2020. LAVCA spoke directly with the CEOs of 74 of these startups to understand how they’re navigating 2020 year to date, in business terms as well as contributing to relief efforts in their markets of operation. 

STARTUP C19 RESPONSES BY THE NUMBERS

HIGHLIGHTED STRATEGIC RELIEF INITIATIVES

Strategic C19 Relief Initiatives from Latin American Tech Growth Coalition Members 

Access a list of highlighted strategic C19 relief efforts from members of the Latin American Tech Growth Coalition, including AWS, Facebook, Globant, Google, KIO Networks, Mercado Libre, Microsoft, Movile, Qualcomm Ventures, Riverwood Capital, Silicon Valley Bank, and Visa.

Capital-Infused c19 Initiatives from VC-Backed Startups

Creditas created a relief fund for employees impacted by the crisis, with contributions from the company’s senior leadership. Creditas also partnered with Estimulo 2020 to bring liquidity to small businesses. Brazilian ERP and CRM provider Omie is also supporting Estimulo 2020.

Nubank launched a R$20m fund to assist customers with mental health services and credit to purchase essential goods. Nubank also launched a donation-matching portal as part of its platform where users can support ActionAid, Citizenship Action, Brazilian Red Cross, and Hospital das Clínicas in São Paulo. 

Strategic Relief c19 Initiatives from VC-Backed Startups

Ayenda Hotels, a Colombian low-cost hotel chain focused on providing a standardized customer experience, supported Airbnb’s Frontline Stays program in Colombia to provide free and subsidized homes for healthcare professionals and frontline responders. Ayenda Hotels, while seeing its 140 locations closed temporarily, launched a dark kitchen offering using the kitchens of hotels that are unable to accommodate guests during the pandemic. 

LIV Up, a Brazilian foodtech that produces and delivers natural flash frozen food, committed to donate a ton of organic ingredients per week through the end of 2020 to NGOs providing food to those in need.

Mediação Online, a Brazilian legaltech platform focused on dispute mediation for Brazilian corporations and consumers, launched A Justiça não vai Parar, a platform to give continuity to judicial mediations put on hold by the Brazilian courts, and offered the platform to the Brazilian Justice System. 

Colombian grocery delivery startup Merqueo partnered with Movistar Arena in Bogota and took it over as its temporary fulfillment center to meet increased demand.

Since mid-April, Brazilian D2C menswear brand Oriba, a Brazilian direct-to-consumer menswear brand, donated 10,000 masks to vulnerable communities supported by affiliated NGOs, and an additional 25,000 face masks to those in need. 

Brazilian proptech QuintoAndar launched the Neighborhood Classifieds Program, a free platform for Brazilian self-employed professionals and small businesses to share their offerings during the current crisis.

Resultados Digitais, a Brazilian SaaS platform that helps customers build, execute, and measure digital marketing strategies, donated equipment for the creation of a decompression room for health professionals at Brazil’s Hospital Baía Sul.

Sempli, a Colombian online lending platform for SMEs, launched Sempli ONGOING, a US$2.8m credit facility for SMEs that require working capital or financial resources ranging from US$5k to US$55k. 

TNH Health, a Brazilian developer of chatbots for patient monitoring and healthcare education, was hired by Brazilian Ministry of Health to integrate the chatbot component of the new TeleSUS telemedicine platform to its public healthcare system. TNH implemented a triage and education chatbot which has been used by ~1 million people to date, developed triage chatbots for state and municipal governments around the country, and partnered with Johnson & Johnson on a resiliency chatbot to support ~20,000 frontline healthcare workers.

Ualá, an Argentine personal financial management mobile app, donated ~USD600k to the Argentine Red Cross to purchase critical medical supplies. Ualá also enabled its users to donate to the Red Cross directly through the app, and postponed installments for loans for 30 days. 

Mexican rideshare app Urbvan partnered with Justo, a Mexican eco-conscious grocery delivery startup, to deliver food orders using its van fleet. Urbvan also launched a feature for users to donate US$2-US$30 and be matched by the company for food donations to C19 patients in hospitals. Justo also partnered with Agrega+, a non-profit providing food donations, to deliver food baskets to the individuals most impacted by the crisis. 

Zinobe, a Colombian fintech focused on credit origination, was approved for a US$30m credit facility by Monachil Capital Partners specifically for loans destined to Colombian citizens impacted by the social isolation measures.