On-demand delivery of food, packages and other products provides much-need income for millions of workers in Brazil. For such gig workers, schedules and pay are inconsistent, and employee benefits such as health insurance are rare.
Brasília-based fintech Trampay provides a “safety net” of financial services, including access to credit for day-to-day expenses, to more than 20,000 gig workers, as well as physical spaces with restrooms, kitchens and meeting rooms. Demand for the product has led to a seven-fold increase in Trampay’s revenues over the last year.
Potencia Ventures invested $1.9 million Brazilian reais ($250,000) in the pre-seed round, following Trampay’s participation in Potencia’s fellowship program. “The future of work involves generating solutions for social problems,” Potencia’s Itali Collini told ImpactAlpha. Last year, Brasília-based Cedro Capital provided $1 million in debt and an undisclosed equity investment in Trampay.
Doubling down
Potencia has backed 40 venture capital funds, including Brazil’s Vox Capital, and more than two dozen impact startups in Latin America, Africa and India. Going forward, the firm, with offices in São Paulo and Portland, will exclusively focus on Latin America, says Collini.
“We’re doubling down in Latin America because we believe that this is a region that can bring a lot of impact and returns,” she told ImpactAlpha in a video interview at FLII. “It is a region full of creative, resourceful founders that can do a lot with little input.”
