(Press Release) Latin American early stage venture capital fund, ALLVP kicked off the year with their investment in Weex, Mexico’s pioneering MVNO for millennials, in a bid to capitalize on Mexico’s mobile market that has swelled to USD$15b with over 105 million subscribers.

Weex offers a unique and highly personalized platform where users can create their own micro-plans from a selection of 64 talk/text/data bundles, revolutionizing services to mobile subscribers. With a mandate to promote price transparency and excellent customer service, Weex is making waves as the only mobile service provider with an innovative focus on high product personalization, giving users full control over their cellphone credit usage and spend. In just 3 months, the Company has officially launched their product, closed negotiations with 7-Eleven to sell Weex SIMs at their 1,300 outlets and launched campaigns on Coca-Cola’s promotion App Destapp.

MVNOs are gaining momentum in Latin America and particularly in Mexico, driven by the potential of a strong prepaid market and a drop in regulatory constraints. Mexico’s recent transformative reforms within the country’s telecom sector impose Mobile Number Portability (MNP) within 24 hours of changing carriers, enabling customers to easily switch telecom companies and force network-sharing of America Móvil’s preponderant telecommunications’ infrastructure with existing and new competitors, making for a more competitive environment. Emboldened by the government’s regulatory overhaul, last year AT&T acquired Mexico’s 2nd and 3rd largest wireless operators Iusacell and Nextel Mexico, for a total of USD$4.4bn. The MVNO market however remains largely unattended, representing under 1% of the mobile market in contrast to developed markets where MVNOs typically capture between ~10-40% of the mobile business, and represents a major growth opportunity against Mexico’s backdrop of favorable regulation, high smartphone penetration and mass market operators.

The company has its origins at Coca-Cola with Founders Ricardo Suarez and John Cooper who launched the Coca-Cola Founders Platform in Mexico as part of the company’s global initiative launched in 10 different cities. The founders, both serial entrepreneurs previously at the head of successful startups, decided to invest in the rising MVNO industry given the recent loosening in Mexico’s telecoms regulatory standards and the country’s high smartphone penetration. “We believe that ALLVP’s experience and track record in developing go-to market strategies for consumer digital companies will be key in scaling the business”, commented Weex’s co-founder and CEO, Ricardo Suarez on partnering with ALLVP. Managing Partner at ALLVP, Federico Antoni underlined the team’s ingenuity and their co-investors’ strategic value: “Weex’s innovative product offering led by a visionary founding team, leveraged on strategic partners like Coca-Cola’s brand visibility, expansive distribution network and market strategy are a perfect combination to propel Weex forward in disrupting the mobile services market.”