After SoftBank, Chinese giant Tencent invests in a Brazilian startup that takes management to SMEs

SAO PAULO – Omie, a Brazilian startup offering a cloud management platform for SMEs, has announced the extension of its Series C investment round. An additional contribution was made by Tencent, the Chinese giant behind the WeChat messaging app and business investor such as Brazilian startups Quinto Andar and Nubank. The value of the investment was not disclosed, but Tencent has acquired a minority stake in Omie.

Series C was held in August of this year and was valued at R$580 million, led by SoftBank Latin America Fund. Japanese telecommunications conglomerate SoftBank owns two Latin American funds worth $5 billion and $3 billion, respectively. This is the last round before an initial public offering of shares by Omie – but the startup still doesn’t have an exact IPO date.

In a statement, the Brazilian startup highlighted Tencent’s expertise in providing communications, social networking and cloud services. The Chinese giant offers solutions for business digitization, just as Omi does in Brazil. The startup has raised over R$690 million by adding the rounds before Tencent’s.

Omie was created by entrepreneurs Marcelo Lombardo and Rafael Olmos in 2013. The startup currently has 78,000 customers, having grown by 70% in 2020. Omie offers its software as a service for a monthly fee – a business model known by the acronym SaaS.

Monthly payments range from free (companies that bill up to R$180,000 and bill up to ten bills per year) to R$699 (up to R$4.8 million in annual sales). Despite these revenue ranges, 30% of revenue actually comes from companies that generate profits between R$10 million and R$200 million annually.

The program is a management, education and financing system for micro, small and medium enterprises. Omie’s ERP serves sectors such as marketing agencies, bars, restaurants, commerce, civil construction, distributors, industries, logistics companies and service providers. Some of the financial services offered in the same program are credit with prepayment of dues, loan in installments, real estate guarantee, digital account, collection via bank voucher and Pix. All services are outsourced i.e. they are provided through partners.

In a statement about the contribution, Omi says the additional resources will allow the management platform to accelerate its growth. In 2022, it is expected to reach 100,000 customers.

To achieve this goal, Omie will invest in new financial services offerings that are integrated with its management software, such as payments. It will also take advantage of Merger and Acquisition (M&As) opportunities. The company has already acquired three companies: Mintegra (integration of e-commerce and management systems), Devi Tecnologia (retail software) and G-Click (a cloud tool for managing accounting office operations).

“We are growing exponentially and this outreach, along with the other contributions we have received, will allow us to accelerate and pass on our innovative experience to more and more entrepreneurs. Additionally, we are very excited to have a group with us now that has significant experience in new platforms that combine financial software and services, an important part of our daily lives,” said Marcelo Lombardo, co-founder and CEO of Omie, in the same statement.

Announcement coming after hours Another Brazilian business startup has announced a new investment. Pipefy, a workflow management software company, has received a $75 million investment in a round led by SoftBank.

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