Fred Guesser

iFood Enters Brazil's MVNO Market Brazil’s leading food delivery platform, iFood, has officially entered the mobile market by launching its own branded mobile service in partnership with the mobile virtual network aggregator (#MVNA) and enabler (#MVNE) Surf Telecom. The initiative highlights the growing role of Mobile Virtual Network Operators (#MVNO) in creating customized solutions for specific segments — in this case, the 600,000 delivery workers who power iFood’s logistics network. The service, branded as the iFood SIM, will be available both as a physical SIM card and as an eSIM. It has been tailored to the daily connectivity needs of couriers, offering data packages with unlimited access to key applications such as WhatsApp, Waze, and the iFood app itself. By exempting work-related usage from data limits, the platform aims to reduce costs for delivery professionals, who depend heavily on mobile internet to complete their routes. The launch is structured in phases. Initially, iFood’s Super Diamond couriers will receive free access to a 20GB plan. Next month, workers in the Gold category will be able to subscribe for R$25 (about USD $5) per month, receiving 15GB data with the same app-based perks. By November, the plan will be extended to all active couriers on the platform. For Surf Telecom, which operates as an MVNA, MVNE, MVNO and MNO, the partnership represents an expansion of its role in Brazil’s mobile ecosystem. The company is leveraging its own spectrum assets in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, while also relying on the nationwide infrastructure of TIM, one of Brazil’s largest mobile operators. The iFood SIM will be supported on both 4G and 5G. According to Surf Telecom CEO Yon Moreira, the partnership has been in development for more than a year and is now set to become one of the operator’s flagship projects. “We expect to reach the vast majority of delivery workers in a short period of time,” he said in an interview with Teletime. “We are treating iFood as a partner of the first magnitude. The last thing a delivery worker wants is to worry about their phone. We will ensure connectivity works seamlessly.” For iFood, the initiative strengthens its benefits package for couriers, while also locking in loyalty through an essential service. This move by iFood is not unprecedented in the Brazilian market. In fact, it follows a similar playbook successfully established by its competitor, Uber, which also runs an MVNO specifically for its own gig workers in the country. Uber launched its MVNO, branded as Uber SIM (or Uber Chip), in partnership with the very same MVNA/MVNE, Surf Telecom, back in January 2021. https://lnkd.in/gBPue4Zr

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SMBC Group’s Latin America Project Finance, in partnership with Loan Capital Markets, served as Sole Structuring Bank, Sole Global Coordinator, Green Loan Coordinator, Joint Bookrunner, and Joint Lead Arranger in support of a $192 million senior secured financing to fund the construction of an 83-megawatt solar plant and 660-megawatt hour storage project in Chile, sponsored by Verano Energy. This transaction reaffirms SMBC’s commitment to supporting the energy transition in Latin America. #TeamSMBC #ProjectFinance #LatinAmerica #Renewables #DealAnnouncement

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Brazil is the world’s 9th largest economy, with nominal GDP exceeding USD 2.2 trillion in 2024, driven mainly by the Southeast region (53% of the total), and unsurprisingly led by São Paulo state (32%). What did surprise me was that Mato Grosso (MT), a grains powerhouse, was well behind other agricultural states such as Goiás (GO) and Bahia (BA), and significantly behind Minas Gerais (MG) with 9.6%.

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Trump investigates Pix in Brazil. Meanwhile… Pix lands in the U.S. 🤣 Here is what happened: Last week, The US 🇺🇸 has launched a formal investigation into 🇧🇷 Brazil’s digital trade practices, with a spotlight on 𝗣𝗶𝘅, the country’s instant payment system. In a Section 301 investigation launched last week, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) accused Brazil of engaging in unfair digital trade and electronic payment practices: https://bit.ly/4f09k1U Today, PagBrasil and Verifone have partnered to launch an in-store alternative payment method (APM) enabling Brazilian shoppers to pay in Brazilian Reais (BRL) using Pix while shopping in the United States. This first-of-its-kind solution allows U.S. merchants to accept the Brazilian payment method. Pix, Brazil’s instant payment system created by its Central Bank in 2020, offers a seamless, cost-effective, and frictionless payment experience for Brazilians. It allows users to send and receive money, as well as make payments, within seconds, 24/7, without relying on cash or cards. Now, with International Pix, a solution built by PagBrasil within the Pix framework, Brazilian consumers can make Pix payments in the U.S. with real-time currency conversion. The launch follows the signing of an exclusive agreement between Verifone and PagBrasil, giving Verifone sole rights to offer the Brazilian company’s International Pix payments in the U.S. “This is a game-changer for U.S. merchants in high-tourism markets like Florida and New York,” said Madhu Vasu, SVP Global Product Management at Verifone. “Only Verifone can offer this capability at the point of sale today, giving merchants a powerful differentiator to attract and serve the 1.9 million Brazilian Tourists who spend more than $4.1 billion annually in the U.S.” The magnitude of this opportunity is reinforced by recent travel trends: from 2023 to 2024, the number of Brazilians traveling to the U.S. rose by more than 17%, reaching 1.9 million visitors. Pix has seen a 57% year-over-year growth in transaction volume and is used by over 160 million people – about 75% of Brazil’s population 🤯 “We’re thrilled to partner with Verifone to bring International Pix to U.S. retail,” said Ralf Germer, Chief Executive Officer at PagBrasil. “This collaboration doesn’t just expand Pix’s global footprint — it gives U.S. merchants a powerful new way to capture spend from millions of Brazilian tourists, while offering shoppers the speed, security and simplicity they already trust at home. It’s a win-win for local stores and travelers alike.” Source/more info: https://lnkd.in/dy_fT7Ca Find this helpful? [ 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 ] Anything to add about this subject? [𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁] Nice story, Marcel. Next! [ 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 ] 

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We’re thrilled to welcome Iniciador to the Valor Capital Group family! The company has just closed a new funding round to scale its PIX payment initiation infrastructure - a key piece in unlocking the full potential of Open Finance in Brazil. A licensed ITP regulated by the Banco Central do Brasil, Iniciador already supports ~60% of native payment initiators and processes nearly 1 in 5 of all Open Finance-initiated PIX transactions in the country. Their platform helps fintechs, banks, and marketplaces embed seamless real-time payments directly into the user journey - removing friction without sacrificing trust or compliance. This round will help accelerate product development and partner integrations as the market matures and Open Finance continues to gain ground. Congrats to Marcelo Martins Gustavo Bresler, Guilherme Decampo and the entire team. We’re excited to build this future together. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dQ8U9HDX #OpenFinance #PIX #DigitalPayments #Fintech #LATAMTech #VentureCapital

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