With that, it added a third fintech to its portfolio, which already has Zoop and MovilePay. Mouro Capital, a venture capital fund of Grupo Santander and which was already an investor in a55, also participated in the round.
Created in 2018 by André Wetter and Hugo Mathecowitsch, a55 operates in Brazil, where almost 75% of its revenue comes from, and in Mexico, where it arrived in 2020, through a platform that connects banking, payment and online performance data. -line. Since its foundation, it has already made almost R$ 400 million in loans available to around 500 companies. It acts as a banking correspondent for QI Tech and BMP Money Plus, but also intends to create a direct credit society (SCD).
a55 received in May 2021 an investment, in the form of debt, of US$ 35 million, led by Accial Capital and which also had BTG and Empírica Investimentos. In 2020, it had carried out a $5 million Series A round led by the Santander venture capital fund. Now, with its B series, it intends to accelerate expansion, including investments in technology and hiring new talent. It also plans to enhance its open finance platform, develop new technologies based on data science and blockchain, and continue its international expansion. There is still nothing defined about new markets, but the most likely destinations would be large Latin American countries.
Until then, fintech was specialized in providing credit for software as a service (SasS), e-commerce and subscription services companies - which have a more predictable recurring revenue. From now on, however, it should expand that scope. “We are no longer going to be guided by the type of business, but by the tools they use, that is, the management systems and means of payment they use, because that is where we get our data and manage to assess whether they are eligible for credit”, explains Mathecowitsch, who is also the company's CEO. In 2022, a55 expects to exceed R$1 billion in credit in Brazil and US$100 million in Mexico.
“Latin America is still an underserved region from the point of view of digital financial products. This, combined with the shift to e-commerce, made us invest in a55 in the first place”, says Manuel Silva Martinez, partner at Mouro Capital. Movile's director of strategy and investments, Fabio Massuda, says that the company has been investing in fintechs for several years and recognizes the enormous potential for the sector's rapid growth in Latin America. “Innovative companies like a55 are transforming access to financial services for ‘new economy’ companies, helping them gain access to credit based on their anticipated future income.”
He points out that Movile, despite the minority stake in a55, is not limited to allocating capital and seeks to have a stake in the strategies of the invested companies. In this sense, collaborations with other fintechs and even startups from other segments of Movile's portfolio are possible paths. “The a55 is a new thesis for us, but in a way we already work in other formats with these companies of the 'new economy'. They need contributions not only to equity [capital], but also debt [loans]. And in that sense the a55 becomes a great option.”
Mathecowitsch says the new round could fuel growth over the next 18 to 24 months. “It will be a consequence of our strategy in the capital markets, of being able to leverage the balance sheet in the best possible way.”
With that, it added a third fintech to its portfolio, which already has Zoop and MovilePay. Mouro Capital, a venture capital fund of Grupo Santander and which was already an investor in a55, also participated in the round.
Created in 2018 by André Wetter and Hugo Mathecowitsch, a55 operates in Brazil, where almost 75% of its revenue comes from, and in Mexico, where it arrived in 2020, through a platform that connects banking, payment and online performance data. -line. Since its foundation, it has already made almost R$ 400 million in loans available to around 500 companies. It acts as a banking correspondent for QI Tech and BMP Money Plus, but also intends to create a direct credit society (SCD).
a55 received in May 2021 an investment, in the form of debt, of US$ 35 million, led by Accial Capital and which also had BTG and Empírica Investimentos. In 2020, it had carried out a $5 million Series A round led by the Santander venture capital fund. Now, with its B series, it intends to accelerate expansion, including investments in technology and hiring new talent. It also plans to enhance its open finance platform, develop new technologies based on data science and blockchain, and continue its international expansion. There is still nothing defined about new markets, but the most likely destinations would be large Latin American countries.
Until then, fintech was specialized in providing credit for software as a service (SasS), e-commerce and subscription services companies - which have a more predictable recurring revenue. From now on, however, it should expand that scope. “We are no longer going to be guided by the type of business, but by the tools they use, that is, the management systems and means of payment they use, because that is where we get our data and manage to assess whether they are eligible for credit”, explains Mathecowitsch, who is also the company's CEO. In 2022, a55 expects to exceed R$1 billion in credit in Brazil and US$100 million in Mexico.
“Latin America is still an underserved region from the point of view of digital financial products. This, combined with the shift to e-commerce, made us invest in a55 in the first place”, says Manuel Silva Martinez, partner at Mouro Capital. Movile's director of strategy and investments, Fabio Massuda, says that the company has been investing in fintechs for several years and recognizes the enormous potential for the sector's rapid growth in Latin America. “Innovative companies like a55 are transforming access to financial services for ‘new economy’ companies, helping them gain access to credit based on their anticipated future income.”
He points out that Movile, despite the minority stake in a55, is not limited to allocating capital and seeks to have a stake in the strategies of the invested companies. In this sense, collaborations with other fintechs and even startups from other segments of Movile's portfolio are possible paths. “The a55 is a new thesis for us, but in a way we already work in other formats with these companies of the 'new economy'. They need contributions not only to equity [capital], but also debt [loans]. And in that sense the a55 becomes a great option.”
Mathecowitsch says the new round could fuel growth over the next 18 to 24 months. “It will be a consequence of our strategy in the capital markets, of being able to leverage the balance sheet in the best possible way.”