 November 11, 2022 #TopStory 🔝 Although investment in LatAm fintechs is in the midst of a slump following years of broad growth, VC firm Quona Capital says businesses offering embedded finance still have scope to raise funding. This week, the company launched its US$332-million Fund III for investments in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America, where it will allocate almost half of the portfolio, or about US$115 million. Quona is no longer interested in putting capital into wallets or neobanks, a more mature market. Instead, it will focus on fintechs with business models that span various industries. “A lot of what we’re seeing are embedded finance solutions, finance that’s within a broader platform, where the financial service is what The company focuses on start-ups, seed rounds or series A fundraising, with an investment horizon of four to eight years. Whittle acknowledges that the global economic deterioration has complicated fundraising for fintechs in growth phases investors have become more choosy about investing. In recent weeks, bigtechs in the U.S. such as Amazon and Meta led losses in equity markets after they reported slower growth, raising questions about whether the boom in digital sales and payments is ending. Cryptocurrencies also tumbled, propelled by the imminent collapse of the FTX exchange after Binance abandoned a rescue bid, which worsened “It’s already more difficult to predict when the market for growth capital is going to open. It’s better to invest in companies that are efficient with their use and capital,” says Whittle. Do you expect 2023 to be just as tumultuous in our sector? As we approach the end of the year, we want to hear your perspectives on the year ahead. Take part in our 2023 Outlook Survey here. The results of the survey, with all the predictions and trends, will be shared in January.  Sponsored by Jumio End-to-End Identity Verification and AML Solutions Discover the end-to-end identity verification, online fraud detection and ongoing AML monitoring services trusted by leading financial services organizations worldwide. #Quote of the week 📆
Walter Pimenta, senior vice president of products and innovation for Mastercard Latin America and the Caribbean, in the podcast series “The Future of Money: Crypto, Digital Currencies, and #Financial results💰Mercado Pago growsMercado Pago, the payments division of Mercado Libre, posted positive results for 3Q, when its active user numbers reached 40 million, a jump of 32% year-on-year. The company recorded a 56% increase in its acquiring activities: payments both inside and outside the Mercado Libre platform, mobile point of sale networks (MPOS) and QR transactions, the latter being driven by activity in Brazil and Argentina. Meanwhile, The company also reported reaching 26 million users on its wealth management service. Bradesco bolsters digital transformationBrazilian bank Bradesco presented its 3Q results with an overall performance that fell short of expectations. However, the bank highlighted growth in its digital services. Through Sept. 30, 98% of transactions took place using virtual channels, and mobile and Internet transactions saw an increase of 64% compared to 2021. And digital loans to individuals and companies grew by 26% and 35% year-on-year, respectively. By 2025, the bank expects 75% of its digital channel transactions to be hosted in the cloud, in partnership with Microsoft Azure. Inter sees user
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