Mexico's social commerce app Bendo closes pre-seed to digitize catalog sales

- Bendo's marketplace model decentralizes the catalog sales market. Its mobile app enables anyone to sell products online by providing free inventory, logistics, and technology.

- Canary led the round, with participation from Seedstars, Angel Hub, and selected angel investors. The resources will be used by the social commerce app to expand its nationwide coverage and reach 500,000 downloads.

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MONTERREY, Mexico, September 21, 2022 -- Bendo, a mobile app that allows anyone to start a business in 5 minutes, has closed a $1.1 million USD pre-seed investment round led by Canary and with participation from Seedstars, Angel Hub, and selected angel investors. The funds will be used to expand its reach throughout Mexico, giving over 500,000 people the opportunity to get started in the world of social selling.

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"Canary's investment will enable us to move forward at a faster pace in 2022. We will remain focused on our operations in Mexico while we lay the groundwork and chart a course for international expansion, as our goal is to reach millions of Latin Americans", according to Agustín García, Bendo's co-founder and CEO.

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The company, which was also founded by Miguel Navarro, began operations in 2021 with the goal of removing the fears and barriers that exist when starting your own business. Both co-founders were among the first DiDi operators in Latin America, having launched the mobility platform in five countries. With their gig-economy experience, the entrepreneurs created a digital catalog sales model that anyone can use without cost.

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The mobile app enables anyone to sell products online by providing free access to inventory, logistics, and technology; all that is required to begin selling products is a cell phone and an internet connection. "Bendo's impact on the community is incredible; through their technology, they have enabled people to increase their monthly income. With the natural network effects that this model has, the impact will only grow exponentially,” said Regina Zururutza, Principal of 500 Startups Latam, a fund that invested alongside Latitud in the company’s previous funding round.

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Canary's managing partner, Marcos Toledo, stated that "from our first conversations, we were impressed with Agustín and Miguel's skills and ambition to build a relevant company. We believe Bendo has the potential to change the game for millions of Latin Americans by providing them with the opportunity to increase their income.”

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Seedstars International Ventures partner Charlie Graham-Brown also comments, "Our investment in Bendo was driven by our conviction that this is the right team to rise up to the challenge of building out a social commerce platform to support hundreds of thousands of micro entrepreneurs and that their model solved for positive unit economics while addressing overstock issues."

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The digitization of catalog sales allows more than 3 million Mexicans and approximately 15 million Latin Americans to start a business selling items on their social media. Through Bendo, it would only take sellers five minutes to download the app, launch their store, and select their inventory from over 5,000 products.

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Bendo has led brands to discover a sales force they previously had no access to, as well as an ultra-private distribution route that does not compete with established channels. The marginal cost to participate in social commerce is almost zero as Bendo charges a commission only on sales made and their technology is directly connected with the brands' existing inventories.

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"We are convinced that e-commerce is already being democratized. The global increase in customer acquisition costs via digital advertising creates an opportunity to establish social sales in Latin America. We want to be the primary option for brands looking to enter this market”, Agustín García concluded.

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About Bendo

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Bendo is a mobile app that offers solutions to people who have always wanted to run their own business. It accomplishes this through the use of technology and a one-of-a-kind business model. It provides tools and takes risks in exchange for the efforts of its partners. The company was founded in 2021 by Agustín García and Miguel Navarro, who, motivated by increasing user income and obsessed with providing the best customer experience, intend to help more people improve their quality of life and brands to access new markets.

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Bendo received funding at the start of its operations by participating in the Latitud and 500 Startups accelerators. Canary, a Brazilian venture capital firm, led its 1.1 million dollar pre-seed round. Its goal is to reach 500,000 downloads in Mexico and to spread the business model throughout Latin America.

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bendo.app / Facebook Bendo App / Twitter @bendoapp / Instagram @bendoapp / LinkedIn Bendo / YouTube Bendo

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