Fiber broadband provider Obvious Fibra raised 10mn reais (US$2mn) in the form of venture debt to spur its growth in Brazil's ISP market.

The amount, which the company said is in preparation for a bigger fundraising, came from asset manager Namari Capital. 

The resources add to US$6.4mn received by Obvious in a venture capital seed round last year led by ECOA Capital, foreign funds and C-level executives from the telecoms, technology and private equity segments.

Obvious Fibra officially launched in June 2022. Relying on neutral networks such as V.tal for fiber deployment, the company says it is present in over 180 Brazilian municipalities.

***

Telefónica’s open innovation arm Wayra took part in an investment in Latin American-focused fintech GrabrFi.

The 2mn-euro (US$2.16mn) allocation was led by Gokul Rajaram (a board member of Pinterest, Doordash and Coinbase) and followed by investors in Europe and the US.

GrabrFi operates in 14 countries by facilitating the online opening of bank accounts in US dollars.

“Wayra has participated in this 2mn-euro round to boost the expansion of GrabrFi especially in Latin America, a region where the neobank is having a great reception,” Telefónica said in a press release.

***

Dealmaking fell 32% by volume and 10% by disclosed value in Latin America in January, compared with a year earlier, according to the monthly report by TTR Data.

In total, the region saw 151 transactions and involving US$2.24bn in disclosed value during the month. Figures include M&As, private equity, venture capital and asset acquisitions.

Brazil led with 103 deals, up 26%. Disclosed deal value was down 11% to US$1.8bn, encompassing 44 transactions.

The next most active markets in January were Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Argentina.

***

 4MDG, a Brazilian startup focused on automation and AI for master data management (MDM), received an investment of 3.8mn reais led by BR Angels with the participation of the Darwin Startups accelerator.

The company's main goal is to invest in technology and in the development of new features for its platform. In 2021, the startup raised 1mn reais from Meta Ventures.

4MDG claims to serve over 70 clients in Brazil, Argentina and the US and is targeting another 300 by 2027.

***

Brazil’s technology manufacturer Positivo secured 330mn reais in loans from development bank BNDES to expand its operations and production capacity. Resources were channeled from the fund for the technological development of telecommunications (Funttel).

A first project, financed through the BNDES Mais Inovação program, will receive 258mn reais for Positivo's innovation mainly in digital transformation and cybersecurity.

A second approved project, worth 72mn reais, is aimed at the expansion and modernization of Positivo's plants in Manaus, Ilhéus and Curitiba, increasing output of smartphones, tablets and payment terminals (card machines) and including new 5G-enabled devices.

The company's goal is to reach 65% of its product mix with 5G technology and total installed capacity of 2.6mn units per year in 2025.
 

Source: Business News Americas / BN Americas - Chile