Nowports is a pioneering startup in Latin America that operates as a freight forwarder, digitizing processes to provide its customers with real-time information on their goods in transit. According to the website of Mouro Capital (a venture capital fund focused on fintech companies), the startup’s clients receive quick quotes on routes and rates, can track their cargo in real time, access digitized documents and reports, and communicate with everyone involved in a collaborative workspace.
After identifying an opportunity to innovate in technology and logistics within the freight forwarding market in Latin America, Nowports was founded between late 2018 and early 2019 by Mexican entrepreneur Alfonso de los Ríos and Maximiliano Casal, a graduate of Systems Engineering from Universidad ORT Uruguay in Universidad ORT Uruguay. Some time later, Santiago García da Rosa, a Programmer Analyst and an ORT graduate.
In July of this year, Nowports raised a total of $16 million in a Series A funding round led by Mouro Capital.
A Series A funding round is typically the first time a company brings in outside investors. Series B rounds usually take place when the company is already profitable and aims to continue growing.
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How did Nowports come about?
Maximiliano Casal (MC): Nowports has emerged as Latin America’s first digital freight forwarder. It was founded by me and Alfonso de los Ríos, building on an initial software project we worked on together after meeting at a boot camp at Stanford University. We both had experience in the field, because Alfonso’s family had a traditional freight forwarders (Editor's note: traditional freight forwarder) for over 15 years in Mexico, and I worked at a freight forwarder at the Hellmann Group while I was living in Kansas City. Building on that prior experience, we identified an opportunity to innovate in this sector in Latin America. That’s how Nowports got started in 2019, and within a few weeks it was accepted into Y Combinator, the world’s leading startup accelerator—which has launched companies such as Airbnb, DoorDash, Coinbase, and Dropbox, among many others.
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What exactly does Nowports do?
Santiago García da Rosa (SGdaR): Nowports is one of the leading startups in Latin America, with a core business focused on the movement of goods to and from the continent. But it has a digital and innovative vision aimed at providing our clients and teams with greater visibility and decision-making capabilities.
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Was it a pioneer in the digitization of freight forwarders?
MC: Yes, Nowports was the first freight forwarder in Latin America. In fact, it started in Mexico and within a few months began expanding into several countries across the continent. It strategically positioned itself on both the west and east coasts, at key ports of entry into the region.
Editor’s Note: The company has active offices in Mexico, Chile, Colombia, and Uruguay, as well as a liaison office in Washington, D.C. (United States).
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What is your role at the company?
MC: In addition to being a co-founder and board member, I am the Chief Operating Officer (COO), and I am responsible for all of the company's operations and finances.
SGdaR: I joined the project about five months after it got underway. At that point, the company had six people on the technology team, led by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), De los Ríos. They needed someone who, building on that foundation, could assemble a team capable of tackling all the technological challenges they faced. With this goal in mind, I proposed several initiatives, including how the team should evolve in terms of structure, processes, and strategies, with a strong focus on culture. Today, it is a department of over 35 people, divided into four divisions (Engineering, Data Science, Product, and Design).
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How significant is Mouro Capital’s $16 million Series A investment—backed by Banco Santander—for Nowports?
MC: Nowports raised $8.6 million in its first funding round (seed round), with participation from Y Combinator, Monashees, Base10, Broadhaven, Paul Buchheit (co-founder of Gmail), and other key investment firms. A few months ago, Nowports raised $16 million in its Series A round from Mouro Capital, Foundation Capital, Justin Mateen (co-founder of Tinder), existing investors, and new strategic angel investors. In total, the company raised $25 million.
On the startup journey, each funding round represents a step toward professionalizing the company and a validation of its potential. Series A is one of the most important milestones in a startup’s life, as it is the round in which the company is formally established. The change is overwhelmingly positive, driving the company forward as it continues to build a great business capable of scaling and growing at a rapid pace.
SGdaR: Winning the Serie A title means, above all, that we must continue to grow aggressively in order to establish ourselves, without a doubt, as leaders and a benchmark in the market. But beyond that, the fact that these investment funds have placed their trust in Nowports and recognized the opportunity it presents validates the incredible progress we’ve made so far. Reaching this point has required enormous effort and dedication. This Series A funding fills us all with the strength to face the new challenges ahead, which we believe will be even more focused on the product, the service, and expanding into more countries to allow the company to continue maturing. We are working with confidence in our plan to achieve the maturity required for Series B.