- Mercado Libre will create more than 4,700 jobs in Mexico;
- It will boost its fintech arm, Mercado Pago, in Mexico;
- The news comes one month later after the announcement of billionaire infusions in Brazil, its largest market.
Argentina‘s e-commerce firm Mercado Libre said on Tuesday it will invest $1.1 billion to expand its warehouse space and services in Mexico this year, spurred on by a pandemic-driven boom in online shopping.
In terms of e-commerce regarding units sold and sales volume, Mexico is now the second biggest market for Mercado Libre, ahead of Argentina, only below Brazil.
READ ALSO: Mercado Libre will invest BRL 10 billion in Brazil in 2021
The figure to be invested in Mexico is nearly triple the $420 million Mercado Libre spent last year in the country, a rapidly growing market where it is battling to stay ahead of global giant Amazon and other rivals.
The investment will help Mercado Libre double its warehouse space and boost fintech services such as consumer credit, the company said in a statement, adding that it will create more than 4,700 jobs.
MeLi has steadily ramped up its Mexico delivery network, recently opening a fourth distribution center, a 60,000-square-meter site in the northern state of Nuevo Leon.
READ ALSO: Mercado Libre raises BRL 1.07 billion in Brazil with receivables fund for working capital
By the end of last year, Mercado Libre operated 210,000 square meters (2,260,421 square feet) of warehouse space, mostly on the outskirts of Mexico‘s populous capital.
MeLi is putting billions on the table in Brazil as well
One month ago, Mercado Libre also announced billionaire infusions in Brazil, its largest market: BRL 10 billion in 2021 to expand its presence in the Latin America‘s largest country.
During Mercado Libre’s Q4 webcast, Pedro Arnt, CFO at Mercado Libre, stated that Latin America is the world’s fastest growing region for e-commerce, citing eMarketer data. MeLi had 37 million unique buyers during the last quarter.
