Femsa acquires 30 percent of payment startup, Shopnet

Contxto – Last Monday, Femsa announced that it’ll be purchasing a 30 percent stake of Shopnet for an undisclosed amount.

If you aren’t familiar with FEMSA, the Mexican multinational beverage and retail company operates the largest independent Coca-Cola bottling group in the world. It also owns the biggest convenience store chain in Mexico, the ubiquitous Oxxo.

What is Shopnet?

The online payment platform based in Mexico allows users to pay for goods and services with affiliate companies. Similar to Groupon in the United States, it enables users to make purchases safely and enjoy unbeatable promotions.

Whether going out for cocktails or purchasing a special gym membership -users can receive discounts of up to 10 percent whenever they make a purchase with Shopnet’s partners.  

Today, the startup operates in more than 400 commerce centers across Guadalajara and Monterrey, including bars, gyms and restaurants. Some food partners include Botanaero Moritas, Jardin Cerveza, Chuchito Perez, Sr. Mostacho, El Torito Sinaloense, plus many more.

“With this investment, FEMSA Comercio enters the world of electronic payments in the physical world through Shopnet,” said Asensio Carrión, director of electronic and financial business for Oxxo. “This strengths our digital strategy and opens the way to an attractive market niche for us.”

What will Shopnet do with the new capital?

This fresh capital will increase the number of customers, not to mention help the startup expand to Mexico City. As Mexico’s capital, this metropolitan is full of business opportunities.

Shopnet CEO Martín Bacópulos Wong is confident that Femsa acquired part of the company because of growing confidence among digital payment platforms. He also believes that his innovative business model based on technology and algorithms helped in the process.

This just so happens to be Femsa’s second startup investment, the previous one being Conekta. I’m looking forward to seeing which startup is next on the corporation’s agenda.

-VC