Brazil-based mobile commerce platform Movile raised $124m yesterday in a funding round led by media and e-commerce group Naspers.
Private equity fund Innova Capital also contributed to the round, which was made up of primary and secondary transactions, though individual amounts were not disclosed.
Founded in 2008, Movile runs an ecosystem of mobile app-based services covering food delivery (iFood), online ticketing (Sympla) and payment processing (Zoop). The company has about 150 million users across Latin America, it said.
The funding will be used to accelerate the growth of iFood, Sympla and Zoop. Movile expects synergies between the three businesses, envisaging scenarios such as iFood’s delivery drivers also carrying Sympla orders.
Movile’s chief executive, Fabricio Bloisi, told Reuters that iFood’s courier network is set to be expanded from a current 5,000 delivery drivers to 30,000.
Movile has raised more than $375m in funding, according to its latest press release. Naspers most recently led an $82m funding round for the company in December 2017 with participation from Innova Capital.
The same two investors had already supplied $53m in capital in June 2017, though it is not clear whether that amount constituted a first close of the December round.
Naspers first became a shareholder in Movile in 2008, and contributed to a $55m series D round in 2014 alongside Funding Authority for Studies and Projects, the Brazilian government-owned agency also known as Finep.
Movile received another $40m from Naspers in 2015, and Naspers’ corporate venturing unit, Naspers Ventures, led its $40m series F round the following year, investing with Innova.
Martin Tschopp, chief operating officer of Naspers Ventures, said: “Naspers has been a long-term partner of Movile because of its ability to build transformative mobile businesses in Latin America and beyond.
“Movile has great expertise in identifying high-potential companies in consumer segments with opportunity for massive growth, including food delivery with iFood, which is why we continue to support the company.”