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The emerging company Hapi, headquartered in San Francisco with Peruvian roots, has secured significant funding of USD $1.6 million to strengthen its presence in the Latin American stock market. This fundraising involved participation from various investment entities, including Utec Ventures, Unpopular Ventures, Softeq Ventures, and Mural Capital.
The purpose of this capital injection is twofold: on the one hand, it aims to support the sustained growth of the company, and on the other, it intends to enhance the user experience in buying and selling stocks and other financial products in the U.S. stock markets, as stated by Dusko Kelez, CEO and co-founder of Hapi, in an interview with Forbes Peru.
The primary commitment of Hapi is to facilitate and make stock market investment more accessible for the people of Latin America. So far, the company has shown steady progress toward achieving this goal. It has focused on accelerated growth, particularly noticeable since its foundation in October 2020, when Kelez Piero Sifuentes and Billy Caballero started this venture.
By October of the previous year, Hapi had reached 10,000 users, projected to increase this number to 75,000 by the end of 2022. However, current figures show even more impressive growth, as the company is about to reach 300,000 users to hit 500,000 by the first quarter of 2024, according to Kelez.
Hapi is characterized as an application focused on purchasing and selling stocks in the U.S. stock market, specifically designed for clients in Latin America. The company states that its mission is to bring prosperity to the region by facilitating access to the world of stock investments.
Furthermore, the Peruvian startup has gained backing from essential entities in the field of technological entrepreneurship, such as Y Combinator, one of the most recognized accelerators in Silicon Valley, and has also received support from Harvard Management Company, strengthening its market position.
According to data from the private company solutions and research provider, Crunchbase, venture capital investment volume in Latin America in the second quarter of 2023 was USD $400 million, a decrease of 84% compared to the same period last year. In this context, investments like Hapi’s are of immense value in continuing to drive the startup ecosystem in the region.
