Marathon Ventures, a Colombian-based venture capital firm, announced closing its first fund of $26 million. The fund will invest in nearly 20 B2B platforms in FinTech, SaaS, and marketplaces. The fund plans to bring a concentrated, value-add approach to seed capital in the region. A smaller portfolio gives Marathon the bandwidth to spend more time and resources on each company to build partnerships, conduct research, connect to advisors and investors, and, most importantly, recruit talent. To date, the fund has invested in eight B2B platforms, representing an approximate 2x return over the total fund size. Latin America saw $19.5 billion in investments in 2021, more than triple from previous annual investments, making it the fastest-growing region globally for VC funding in 2021. The potential growth in the region seems set to continue with massive, record-breaking investments in Latin American tech companies.
Marathon portfolio companies like Tul, Sumer, Estoca, and Meru are building solutions to change the status quo for SMEs. Additionally, Marathon has invested in companies including Neivor, Welbe, and Hello Guru because they are driving a similar transformation for larger enterprise companies. Marathon is confident that investing in technology platforms will create opportunities for businesses of all sizes in emerging markets to close the gap in the developed world. One of Marathon’s first seed investments was Tul, a B2B e-commerce marketplace that optimizes the construction-material supply chain for hardware stores across Latin America. Tul recently announced a $181 million Series B round and an $800 million valuation. Marathon’s portfolio includes companies redesigning industries in emerging markets, including Estoteca, HelloGuru, Meru, Neivor, Sprout, Sumer, Welbe, Wonder Brands, and a B2B payments company in stealth. Marathon is looking for additional core portfolio companies. Marathon will establish an office in Mexico City by the end of Q1 2022.