LatAm List – Banco Votorantim, the seventh largest bank in Brazil, recently announced an $18.38M (R$80M) investment in Weel, an accounts receivables management platform for SMEs.
It is not the first time BV invests in the Sao Paulo-based startup, having contributed $6M in the past. The bank has also stated it is willing to increase funding for Weel by up to $183M (R$800M).
This investment is part of the bank’s strategy to accelerate revenue growth in the coming years by giving loans to smaller companies and investing in fintechs. According to BV’s Strategy and Innovation Director Guilherme Horn, SMEs are a niche that is still poorly served by the traditional financial system.
“We are seeing that there is demand from companies, but that it is still not well served by the market,” commented Horn.
CEO and Founder Simcha Neumark said the recent contribution will help Weel expand its operations throughout Brazil and explore other markets in Latin America like in Chile and Mexico.
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