Movile made a US$9m Series A investment in Colombian grocery delivery platform Mercadoni, with participation from previous investors Axon Partners and Grupo Pegasus. This marks Movile’s first investment in a non-Brazil market.

(Press Release) Movile, a global leader in mobile marketplaces, announces it participated in a US$9 million Series A investment in the Colombian company Mercadoni. The investment accompanies the movement created by the group to promote the development of the food market, in addition to expanding its portfolio of invested companies. Present in Colombia, Argentina and Mexico, Mercadoni is one of the leaders in the grocery segment, also allow users to buy from drugstores, pet shops, delicatessens, wine stores in Latin America. The company already registers a monthly growth of 20% in GMV in the last year and will use the capital to optimize the usability of the site and expand the operation of its platform.

According to Fabricio Bloisi, Movile’s CEO, supermarket delivery is a business model with great potential, especially in Latin America. “In addition to the hectic daily life, large Latin American cities often have intense traffic, which encourages consumers to enjoy home delivery more than in other parts of the world, so we are excited to use our expertise in building online platforms to support and stimulate Mercadoni’s growth, “explains Bloisi.

This is the first time that Movile has invested in a startup that operates exclusively outside Brazil, which demonstrates the interest in boosting potential businesses throughout Latin America. “The Latin American market overall is a priority for Movile. Outside of our leadership in Brazil, we already have a strong presence elsewhere in the region in mobile services, food delivery with SinDelantal (Mexico) and logistics with Mensajeros Urbanos (Colombia), and we want to further expand our services. We see great potential for creating strong, successful businesses across Latam and getting closer to our mission of positively impacting the lives of 1 billion people”, concludes Bloisi.

Altogether, Movile’s new invested company has around 100 supermarkets registered in the three countries. “Mercadoni has already achieved success in Colombia, Argentina and Mexico, so we partnered with Movile to help us further leverage the business and grow our operations in these countries” says Pedro Freire, co-founder of Mercadoni.