1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Daniel Ibri of Mindset Ventures (Part 5)

Sramana Mitra: What is the scale of the consumer internet population right now in Brazil?

Daniel Ibri: We have passed the mark of more than a smartphone per person. That shows you that a huge number of the population is connected. We have very good broadband in most of the country. A lot of people use digital services.

E-commerce has been growing a lot. One of our unicorns here in Brazil is called Nubank. It’s a FinTech startup that Sequoia invested in at the beginning. Now they are valued at $4 billion. They are doing amazingly well. They provide digital banking accounts and credit cards, especially for millennials. People are really sticking to that.

The younger generation is taking to the Internet and doing everything on their own. Scooter sharing, for instance, is booming here. I heard that Sao Paulo is the biggest Uber market in the world. Whatsapp is unbelievably big, so is Waze because of the traffic. They are things that are now part of the Brazilian life.

Sramana Mitra: It’s a very digital savvy customer base.

Daniel Ibri: Yes. We had a big barrier for people to shop online, especially if they’re putting in their credit cards. We have a past of cyber attacks and corruption. Historically, people have been afraid of doing that, but we have seen this barrier break. E-commerce has been growing. It’s not as high as the US, but it’s been growing steadily.

Sramana Mitra: Your business though is B2B. How is the business side of Brazil becoming good adopters of technology? Is there a strong early adopter population on the business side?

Daniel Ibri: I would say yes, but it’s less than the consumer space. The corporations are moving slower. We’ve seen some movements that are really interesting like big Brazilian corporations developing their VC arms or accelerators. They are opening their heads to innovation and working with startups. This is a big movement that is spreading all over.

A very interesting fact is, the biggest tech company in the world has a huge operation in Brazil. Most of the international companies are here as well. We can also use Brazil as an entry door to get back to the US sometimes.

Sramana Mitra: Very interesting. This is a great conversation. Is there anything else you want to add?

Daniel Ibri: We are very excited to prove our value. When we started back in 2016, we were trying to make it work. It was more like an investment thesis more than anything. Now that we have nine companies doing business in Brazil and invested in more than 35 in two geographies, we have been able to prove that this really works.

Brazil is a good platform for international expansion. It’s fulfilling for us. We are looking forward to finding more companies and working closely with other VCs.

Sramana Mitra: Thank you for sharing your perspective.

This segment is part 5 in the series : 1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Daniel Ibri of Mindset Ventures
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