Presence “in absentia.”: A Recap and Takeaways from Web Summit in Rio

By Samarth Bansal, V.P., Global Head, Nium Checkout 

Initially dreading my 30-hour-long, two-stop flight to Rio, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the conference ended up being one of the most insightful conferences I have attended.  

Our decision to participate in the event stemmed from the growing interest we have observed among our existing and new clients looking for the Nium experience for their payment needs in Latin America. And it turned out we weren’t alone.  

This marked the first time a major tech conference was held in Rio, attracting more than 20,000 attendees from across 90+ countries, and featuring more than 900 start-ups.  

Amongst all the speaker sessions, exhibitors, and meet/greets, conferences like these provide valuable insights into key market trends. Notably, the event showcased a strong presence of banks looking to help support international payment companies and businesses, alongside a diverse range of fintechs focusing on payments, expense management, and open banking. Additionally, the conference exhibited a vibrant consumer tech representation primarily from edtech and social streaming companies.  

A few key takeaways 

• Consumer eCommerce is booming, focusing on gaming, edtech, and social streaming verticals. The B2C E-commerce market in Latin America is expected to grow by 10.73% annually to reach US$183.5 billion in 2023.  
• A lot of payment innovation primarily focused on SMBs and their domestic needs. SMBs are looking towards multi-country operations within Latin America.  
• Interesting to also see a lot of North American and European businesses looking to expand into Latin America. For example, there was a three people edtech company that had gained organic users from Latin America and wanted to use the event for marketing and user acquisition push. But at the conference, they quickly realized the complexities of entering the market ranging from the payment methods fragmentation to different taxes and currency complexities. 

Also, Caipirinha’s are refreshing, but one too many is not a good idea, especially if you are on a long flight out! 

We would love to chat if you are curious about Latin America payments and want to expand. Please visit our website or by scheduling a meeting here.