Goldman Sachs has joined George Soros and Steve Cohen in backing an Argentinian mobile banking startup

pulse

October 9, 2018 10:22 PM

Ualá, an Argentine mobile banking startup, has raised $34 million in a new round of funding led by Goldman Sachs's venture unit, along with investors including billionaire George Soros' family office and the early-stage VC firm funded by Steve Cohen.

Ualá, an Argentinian mobile banking startup, has raised $34 million in a new round of funding led by Goldman Sachs's venture unit, along with investors including
The company - which offers a financial management app and a fee-free prepaid MasterCard - aims to disrupt the traditional retail banking infrastructure, according to Pierpaolo Barbieri, founder and CEO of Ualá.

Goldman Sachs' venture unit is leading a new round of investment in an Argentinian fintech company backed by billionaire investors George Soros and Steven Cohen.

, the one-year-old mobile banking startup, raised $34 million in its series B round led by Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, along with existing investors including a private fund managed by Soros Fund Management, Jefferies, the venture arm of Steve Cohen's Point 72, and entrepreneur Kevin Ryan, according to an announcement seen by Business Insider.

"Our goal is to replace the traditional retail banking infrastructure with Ualá," Barbieri said.

Over 50% of people in Argentina had never had a card before and are only operating in cash, so the company aims to provide these people financial inclusion by giving them access to financial system

Ualá will tap into the new fund to boost its user growth, expand its headcount, and execute the launch of a credit and savings platforms, according to the announcement.

International appetite in Latin American startups hit a peak last year, with global venture capital investments in the region surpassing $1 billion in 2017 for the first time, according to The Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America.

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