Events

The countdown for the last phase of Visa’s Everywhere Initiative program starts today. As we already announced, applications for the 2018 edition of this competition organized with Finnovista closed past June the 22nd with very good results: more than 350 startups all over the region applied to be recognized as the best tech startup in Latin America and the Caribe, but only 36 semifinalists will be competing at one of the semifinals that will take place over the next few weeks and only two startups will be selected as finalists at each of the events.

Most of the applications received come from Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, and Chile where over 90% of the Fintechs are based according to a report by Finnovista and where the semifinals will be taking place.

The 36 semifinalists come from 12 different Fintech segments. It is worth stressing that the three prevailing segments have been Payments (15 startups, 42% of the semifinalists), Enterprise Technologies for Financial Institutions (4 startups, 11% of the semifinalists), Enterprise Financial Management (also 4 startups, 11% of the semifinalists) and, Lending (3 startups, 8% of the semifinalists). Next segments in the number of semifinalists have been the Personal Financial Management segment and Savings both with 2 startups. The rest of the segments, with one semifinalist each, come from the following: Digital Commerce, ID Validation, Crowdfunding, Marketplaces, Wealth Management and Security.

Compared to the previous edition, there has been a clear increase in the number of applicants coming from Digital Commerce, Digital ID, and Insurtech. In addition, there has also been a greater geographical diversity with more applications coming from smaller markets such as Costa Rica and Peru, which demonstrates that innovation is increasingly widespread all over the region and not limited to traditional financial centers in LatAm.

When semifinals begin, next August the 21st in Bogotá, we will be able to discover these projects that will be pitching in front of an expert panel of judges including Visa’s executives and from other financial institutions and investors from the Latin American Fintech ecosystem. Only 12 startups will make it to the final phase and get the possibility of participating in a 4-day immersion program and pitch their projects at FINNOSUMMIT in Miami on October 4th and 5th, 2018. The winner will get a $50,000 prize and the unique opportunity to collaborate with Visa in transforming the future of payments and commerce, connect with VC investors and with VISA’s partners’ ecosystem.

Moreover, a special recognition will be given to the best startup with the highest potential to have an impact on financial inclusion in the region who will also be invited to a 4-day immersion program in Miami and to FINNOSUMMIT Miami.

Here is the list of the 36 startups that will pitch in the semifinals:

Bogota Semifinal  | August 21st

1. Fintech Latam: Fintech B2B company focused on developing and managing neobanking platforms for financial institutions.
2. Houspoon: Colombian Digital Commerce web app that empowers people to turn their home kitchens into social restaurants where people can connect and the host can make some money out of it.
3. Minka: Colombian bank in the cloud that allows organizations to create low-cost and secure financial services through open APIs.
4. The Pagadito Group: Payment gateway/aggregator from El Salvador servicing merchants ranging from individual freelancers to governments with a broad product range.
5. Tranqui: Colombian PFM platform to help users get quality answers and guidance so they can improve their financial lives
6. xChange: Payments platform from Ecuador for online transactions made in the backside by Blockchain, where anyone can send and receive money from any part of Latin America

Mexico City Semifinal | August 23d

1. Destacame: Destacame is a free digital financial management platform from Chile that empowers individuals by giving them control over their financial data.
2. Dapp: Mexican payments Fintech allowing merchants to charge in a simple and safe way with no additional devices (POS, mPOS).
3. Expediente Azul: Mexican EFM that simplifies the submission process of documentation needed for financial operations.
4. Pagamobil: Mexican startup developing mobile payments solutions so that users can pay all relevant services through a Standalone App (B2C direct) and API’s.
5. Swapme: Mexican Mobile Wallet enabling P2P payments to any contact or bank account in Mexico, and payments to merchants.
6. Visor: Mexican marketplace that enables frictionless origination, dynamic analysis and intelligent customer management of SMEs in Mexico and Brazil

Lima Semifinal | August 28th

1. Chaty: Peruvian ETFI startup specialized in the development of AI ChatBots that allow businesses to sell and get payments via messaging services.
2. Culqi: Payments startup from Peru simplifying: the way customers pay, developers integrate and companies manage their business.
3. Kushki: Payment gateway from Ecuador aiming to ease internal processes and help companies venture in new sales channels and automation.
4. Saveit: Peruvian application that connects people’s savings with fund management companies (SAFs), so that people can raise money for specific goals.
5. Tasatop: Deposit marketplace from Peru that connects savers with banks through auctions and differentiated savings products.
6. Wally: Payment startup from Peru that offers a complete solution for Small Merchants of Retail and Quick Service.

Santiago Semifinal  | August 30th

1. Comunidad Feliz: Chilean EFM offering a property management software for financial planning, a payment channel for community fees and a social network for homeowner’s associations.
2. Facenote: Chilean ID Validation startup offering an opt-in facial identification technology that helps companies recognize their most valuable customers.
3. QVO: Payment gateway from Chile that allows online business to accept debit and credit card payments through a world-class API and a complete payment dashboard.
4. Tink: Chilean ETFI startup offering a white label SaaS that increases sales in the financial industry through referral automation.
5. Weeshing: Mexican crowdfunding platform that allows users to invest in their favorite artists, sharing profits with promoters.
6. Pagaya: Chilean payment multiplatform allowing transactions between people where buyers can pay in installments with a credit card and sellers receive the full payment after 48 banking hours.

Sao Paulo Semifinal | September the 4th

1. Blu365: Brazilian EFM offering a debt collection platform optimizing the collection process for lenders and where debtors can find a neutral and friendly channel to negotiate debts.
2. Cloudwalk: Brazilian payment processor who build an acquirer platform from scratch, using AI, blockchain and cloud technologies.
3. Flexipag: A Lending startup that provides online microcredit loans and in-store credit for the 2.7B people that are underbanked by linking payments with smartphones usage.
4. IDWall: ETFI startup from Brazil helping companies to automate the onboarding process for new clients/partners/suppliers, avoiding identity fraud and manual works.
5. Virtus Pay: Payments Fintech startup from Brazil that connects available credit card limits to people who need credit.
6. Zippi: is a Brazilian online lending startup focused on providing simple and reasonably priced loans to professionals working as drivers on ride-hailing apps.

Buenos Aires semifinal  | September 6th

1. Emprestify: Lending Argentinian platform providing 100% digital alternative financing for Micro and Small Business in Argentina and Latin America.
2. Goonder: Wealth Management app from Argentina aiming to turn investing into a fun, shareable and profitable experience for everybody.
3. Mobbex: Argentinian payment startup helping any size of a merchant in Argentina to accept cards easy, fast and secure.
4. Nubi: Marketplace from Argentina that offers a service to allow SMBs and entrepreneurs to withdraw money from the PayPal balance and deposit it into the Argentinean financial system.
5. Olpays: Payment platform from Argentina that offers pay-in and pay-out tools integrated with only one solution allowing marketplaces and eCommerce to collect and/or distribute payments.
6. VU Security: Argentinian security company specialized in fraud prevention and identity protection.

Congratulations to all 36 semifinalists! Now is the time to get ready to pitch at the semifinals and dazzle the jury with their innovation! Which 12 startups will come with us to the final at FINNOSUMMIT Miami? Don’t forget that if you want to attend any of the semifinals of Visa’s Everywhere Initiative for free, you only have to register here. Join the events and be among the first to get to know these unique competition finalists! Click on the button of the city of interest:

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