Nowports, the Uruguayan unicorn candidate seeking an aggressive expansion strategy

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Nowports has consolidated its presence in the continent. The company that combines logistics with technology expanded its presence in the continent after it arrived in Brazil in November 2021. Today, its operations in the regional giant are already underway, and they are going for more.

“Our strategy to reach Brazil is violent because we want to enter the largest market in Latin America with force,” said Maximiliano Casal, the company’s COO (chief operating officer), in dialogue with Café & Negocios.

Casal is Uruguayan and co-founder of the company whose operations began in Mexico, the country of origin of his partner, Alfonso de los Rios. Together they founded Nowports in 2018, and currently, they have already confirmed an outlay to establish an office in Brazil of US$8 million.

The amount corresponds to a Series A extension of an investment round. This type of round is primarily oriented to assume the risks of scaling the business and boosting its positioning. Nowports obtained it in mid-2021, and this allowed it to raise US$16 million and start playing in the first place.

URUGUAYAN COMPANY RAISES US$60 MILLION AND EXPANDS ON THE CONTINENT

As of February 1, Nowports is also starting its operations in Panama to operate in this country as soon as possible. The company has already sent a team to work on the opening, whose primary function is to “expand the company’s culture to the new office”.

The investment to open this office involved an outlay of US$1 million. This amount comes from Series B that the Uruguayan startup raised months ago. The injection, on that occasion, was capital of US$60 million and was backed by Tiger Global, Softbank, and DST, three of the most liquid venture capital funds.

“Although the amount to open the office in Panama is much less than that disbursed in other openings, it is a strategic investment to position ourselves in Central America,” said Casal about Nowports’ latest office, which will open in the country whose canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and is one of the most important port areas in the world.

The company, which allows its users to track their cargo in real-time, is already present in Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Peru, Brazil, and, starting this year, in Panama.

WHAT’S NEXT

The capital raised in Series B is being used for the company’s expansion outside Latin America. Casal confirmed to Café & Negocios that the new destination for Nowports will be Miami.

At the same time, opening an office in Hong Kong is also being negotiated, which means the landing of the technology company in one of the most strategic and prosperous areas of the world.

“The idea is to finish consolidating Nowsport in Latin America and explore other continents to continue expanding the company,” said Casal.

The company currently has 370 workers distributed throughout the continent and expects its workforce to grow to 850 employees (+130%). At the same time, Montevideo has consolidated its position as Nowports’ operations center, and Casal expects to add 10 to 15 more people to the staff in the country.

FINANCE, THE NOVELTY FOR 2022

Nowports announced Finance, its inventory financing tool for its customers to “optimize” their supply chain and entire freight cycle.

“The freight forwarder Nowports is reinventing foreign trade from Latin America; its priority is to streamline and digitize all logistics processes, from start to finish, developing technology and tools that facilitate the flow of goods,” they argued from the startup.

“We are building the supply-chain solution, where digital, transactional and logistical data drive credit decisions, thus creating a disruptive supply chain,” said Casal, adding: “Companies need to be more agile and efficient; with Finance, users will be able to grow their businesses and capitalize on opportunities that often cannot be realized due to lack of capital.

The new service will be available to companies in Mexico, Chile, and Peru. Nowports plans to offer this service to its more than 1,500 current clients. By 2022, the company will expand this offering to Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay.

With information from El Observador