There’s never been such a good moment for the startup’s landscape in Latin America, such as now, and that’s a fact since only in 2019, 17 new companies reached the status of a unicorn by being valued in $ 1 billion. In Brazil, companies such as EBANX, Gympass, and Loft are some examples of those who have joined the list recently.
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However, in 2020 the expectations are even higher. That’s why Forbes interviewed 11 Brazilian specialists on the segment and forecasts which companies are the huge promises to join the unicorns club this year. Each one of the experts was able to point out until 6 companies’ names with high potential to valued in $ 1 billion. Here are the most expected ones:
Creditas
Highlighted by 10 out of 11 experts, Creditas, the fintech that has an online solution to offer credit, is the first in line to become a unicorn in 2020, according to Forbes’ ranking. During all the company trajectory, Creditas has already received around BRL 1,2 billion from international venture capital funds. The last one a series D round of $ 231 million led by Softbank in July 2019, the company valuation had a boom of $ 250 million to $ 750 million, leaving the startup very close to reach the unicorn status.
In 2020, Creditas main strategy is to focus on an expansion plan that has Latin America and Europe as its main targets.
Cargo X
Following the theory that the most successful startups in Latin America are those who accept the challenge of really solving a problem, the logistics startup Cargo X was the second most voted by experts to be valued at $ 1 billion this year.
Not by coincidence, the company’s plans for 2020 are to double the number of employees in 2020, going from 350 in 2019 to more than 600, to keep up the fast-growing rates of the market. In 2018, the company had reached a revenue three times higher than the previous year, and even that the numbers of 2019 haven’t been revealed, Daniel Carvalho, Cargo X’s COO said in a previous interview for LABS that “our average growth and revenue rate is more or less 20% per month.”
Resultados Digitais
Tied with Cargo X, Resultados Digitais, the startup that offers digital marketing solutions, is also taking the second position on the list after receiving the same number of votes than the logistics startup.
Headquartered in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, the company has already expanded its business to Colombia and Mexico. In August 2019, Resultados Digitais received $ 200 million in Series D round led by Riverwood Capital, it was the biggest investment ever made in a SaaS company in Latin America.
GuiaBolso
Surfing the wave of fintechs and financial solutions in Brazil, the app of personal finance management Guia Bolso is the third on Forbes’ line to become a unicorn. Created in 2012 by Thiago Alvarez and Benjamin Gleason, Guia Bolso has now more than 6 million active users in Brazil.
The next steps of the company are closely related to its latest release, the feature Guiabolso Connect, focused on the B2B market. The service will allow companies to have access to financial data, previously authorized by users, in order to make more precise risk analysis and reducing fraud.
Conta Azul
Two fintechs are tied in the fifth position of Forbes’ ranking: Conta Azul and Neon. The first one, Conta Azul, is also headquartered in a city of Santa Catarina, pointing out how the region is taking place as one of the most important tech-hubs in Brazil, and is focused on offering financial solutions to SMB companies.
The startup is considered as one of the most innovative solutions in B2B management and during all its trajectory, the company raised more than $ 40 million from international funds.
Neon
Neon, however, is betting on the rise neobank landscape in Brazil and in only four years, has already raised more than $ 120 million in investments. The company offers digital banking accounts, credit, prepaid, and debit cards to more than 1.4 million active users in the country.
As a strategy to keep growing, the company has acquired the startup MEI fácil in September 2019, the goal is to target the micro-entrepreneurs to increase its shares in the Brazilian market.
