Uala wins backing from Goldman Sachs, George Soros, Steve Cohen

Leo
Correa/AP Images

• 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 billionaire
  George Soros‘ family office and Point 72
  Venture, the early-stage VC firm funded by Steve
  Cohen.
• 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. 

Ualá, 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.

Goldman Sachs provided over half of the capital, according
to Pierpaolo Barbieri, founder and CEO of Ualá.

The Buenos Aires-based startup offers a personal
financial management app that is linked to a prepaid Mastercard,
which doesn’t charge opening fees, transaction fees, and renewal
fees. In the span of one year, the company has issued 400,000
cards, which allow users to top up cellphones, make
purchases, and conduct P2P money transfers. 

“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, he added.

“Ualá’s product offering reduces both cost and friction,
while providing a great consumer experience,” said Christopher
Dawe, cohead
of 
Goldman
 
Sachs
 Investment
Partners venture capital & growth equity team. “We are
excited by the company’s mission of improving access to critical
financial services and look forward to partnering with the Ualá
team on their next phase of growth.”

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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