eCommerce Startup Merama Closes $225M Series B Round

The Latin American eCommerce startup Merama has raised $225 million in Series B funding, bringing the value of its direct-to-consumer (D2C) financing business to close to $850 million.

As Business of Fashion reported on Friday (Oct. 1), this funding follows the $100 million in debt financing and $60 million in seed funding that the firm — headquartered in Sao Paulo and Mexico City — secured earlier this year.

Sujay Tyle, co-founder and CEO of Merama, called the investment “a strong affirmation of Merama’s business model, momentum and the size of the market opportunity.”

Launched late last year, Merama has purchased stakes in 20 brands throughout Latin America at a time when the region’s tech sector has been attracting major global investors.

Learn more: SMB Lender Konfio Hits $1.3B Valuation Following $110M Fundraise

On Wednesday (Sept. 29), Konfío, the financial services startup for small to medium-sized business (SMBs), reached a $1.3 billion valuation following the close of an extended $110 million Series E funding round. That valuation made Kofino Mexico’s fourth unicorn, joining the used-car seller Kavak, cryptocurrency exchange Bitso and payment processor Clip.

Read more: Advent Backs Brazilian FinTech EBANX in $430M Deal

And as PYMNTS reported in June, the Brazilian payment processing firm EBANX landed $430 million in funding from Advent International, which is also reportedly one of Merama’s key investors.

EBANX says its platform has helped companies like Amazon, Alibaba, Shopee, Spotify and Uber to conduct business with more than 70 million Latin American consumers across 15 countries through its platform.

Mario Malta, managing director and head of Latin America financial services at Advent, said EBANX is “the clear leader in a rapidly expanding market, serving clients that are among the fastest-growing companies in the world and helping them to sell throughout Latin America.”

The company hit unicorn status in 2019 and is said to be looking to go public next year.