Key South American FinTech investment stats in H1 2024:
- South American deal activity for H1 2024 dropped by 59% in YoY comparison
- Average deal value rose by almost 2.5x as investors changed their priorities
- Celcoin secured the biggest deal for H1 2024 in South America with $125m funding round
In H1 2024, the South American FinTech sector experienced a notable drop in both deal activity and funding. Only 59 deals were recorded in H1 2024, marking a 59% decrease compared to the 144 deals in H1 last year. Despite the reduction in deal activity, funding saw a slight increase, with FinTech companies raising $641m in H1 2024, a marginal 2% increase from the $630m raised in H1 2023. However, if the deal activity trend over the first six month of the year continues for the rest of the year, the projected total for 2024 would be 118 completed transactions, representing a significant 55% drop from last year’s total of 240.
The average deal value in H1 2024 was approximately $10.9m, reflecting a huge 2.5x increase compared to the $4.4m in H1 2023. This rise in average deal value suggests that while the overall number of deals has sharply decreased, the size of the investments has grown significantly, which could be due to a number of reasons. One of the reasons could be investors being picky and choosing to invest larger amounts in fewer companies or another reason could be a shift in strategy towards later-stage investments where companies typically require large amounts of capital.
Celcoin, a leading company in the Banking as a Service (BaaS) financial technology market, secured the largest funding deal in South America for the first half of 2024 with a $125m investment led by global growth equity investor Summit Partners. Known for its partnerships with market-leading FinTech companies like EngageSmart and Corpay, Summit Partners was joined by existing investor Innova Capital and seasoned FinTech executive John Coughlin in this round. Founded in 2016, Celcoin provides financial infrastructure services for banks, FinTechs, and enterprises, focusing on payments, banking, and lending to enable personalized embedded finance solutions. With over 400 financial industry customers and more than 5,000 non-financial companies leveraging its offerings, Celcoin’s robust platform processes over 200m Pix transactions monthly. The new capital will support Celcoin’s expansion plans, further strengthening its leadership position in the BaaS and embedded finance markets, while driving continued innovation. The investment comes as Celcoin experiences strong momentum, recording $63m in annual recurring revenue in Q1 2024—a 140% increase year-over-year—alongside strategic acquisitions like Galax Pay, Flow Finance, Finansystech, and Reg+.
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