Mexican Startup Wins Largest Seed Round in Latin America

Mexican-led company Valoreo has just received US$50 million in a seed round, one of the largest amounts a company has received at this level in Latin America, reports iupana. The round was led by international investors including Upper99, Fabrice Grinda from FJ Labs, Presight Capital, David Geisen from Mercado Libre in Mexico and Ricardo Weder from Jüsto, reports Forbes Mexico. “By now, we can say that these investors are not just supporting us from the sidelines. We now consider them an extended part of the team,” said one of Valoreo’s Founders, Alexander Grüll, to Forbes Mexico.

The Mexican startup is building an e-commerce empire in Latin America by acquiring, operating and scaling businesses in the region. Based in Mexico, Valoreo finds companies that sell leading products in their categories and develops their brands. Valoreo is a Latin American pioneer that aims to bring better products at more affordable prices to consumers in the region, reports PR News Wire. “At Valoreo, we are building the largest e-commerce holding in Latin America in the 21st century. We acquire sellers that operate with their own brands and sell mainly in online markets such as Mercado Libre, Amazon and Linio. We also have the capacity to develop unique brands to offer a wider selection of products to our final consumer,” explained Co-Founder Stefan Florea to Forbes Mexico.

Through Valoreo’s platform, e-commerce sellers can see their brands reach new limits through consolidated operations, a more sophisticated infrastructure and deeper experience said the company's Founder. Valoreo’s team has great skills in investments, e-commerce, brand management, operations and supply chains. The idea, explained Florea, is to give all participants in the ecosystem more value and give sellers more liquidity. It is a win-win-win scenario, explains Florea, where sellers, platforms and consumers make better and faster transactions, reports PR News Wire. Valoreo’s goal is clear: to support Latin American e-commerce entrepreneurs.

Valoreo’s founders, who choose their own collaborators and investors, claim to have a local understanding of the Latin American ecosystem. The e-commerce market is seeing exponential growth ever since the pandemic started. However, the market is much more fragmented than in other regions due to the multitude of platforms available. This presents a large opportunity for Valoreo to create better links between sellers and final consumers.

After the recent investment, Valoreo plans to focus on two areas to potentialize its growth. First, it aims to acquire more brands to increase its portfolio. Second, it will strengthen its team of collaborators. “The first area, which will require most of our funding is the acquisition of brands from outstanding sellers,” told Martín Florea to Forbes Mexico, “the other key area is the creation of a Valoreo team. Given our growth trajectory, we are aware of our need to find outstanding players in different areas, such as brand management, M&A, legal or supply chain management,” he continued. The brand is currently focused on the Mexican and the Brazilian market.