Risky investment bets on young technology entrepreneurs in Brazil are starting to pay off. That is spurring a boom in startup financing in a country long dominated by entrenched corporate giants.
Digital banking startup Nubank, founded in 2013 just before a sharp economic decline, has attracted investors such as Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and will soon hold an initial public offering in New York. In May, online services marketplace GetNinjas made its debut on Brazil’s stock exchange. Two months earlier, enterprise software company RD Station was purchased for $330 million in one of the country’s largest ever software deals.