MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SoftBank Group International (“SBGI”) today announced that Rodrigo Baer and Marco Camhaji will be joining SBLA Advisers Corp., which manages the SoftBank Latin American Fund (“LatAm Fund”) and the SoftBank Latin American Fund II (“LatAm Fund II”), as Managing Partners focused on identifying and supporting early-stage companies across the Latin American region.
Mr. Baer and Mr. Camhaji bring significant expertise and experience identifying and supporting early-stage technology growth companies. They will be based in São Paulo, Brazil, and will report to Marcelo Claure, Corporate Officer, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of SoftBank Group, Chief Executive Officer of SBGI and Chief Executive Officer of SBLA Advisers Corp.
“As one of the largest and most active technology investors in Latin America, the LatAm Fund has invested in almost two-thirds of the unicorns operating in the region,” said Mr. Claure. “With the addition of Rodrigo and Marco to our world-class investment team, as well as the launch of our second Latin America Fund, we will be better able to identify great entrepreneurs and support them at every step of their lifecycle. I’m confident Rodrigo and Marco’s insights and experience will add great value for the high-growth companies we support in Latin America.”
“SoftBank and the LatAm Fund have been an aggressive investor in Latin America, a region that continues to grow at an extraordinary pace,” said Mr. Baer. “I am excited to work with Marcelo and the team to identify early-stage companies and provide them with the capital and operational support to help them succeed and scale their companies in an increasingly challenging market.”
“Latin America continues to be a hotbed of innovation with entrepreneurs disrupting, redefining and creating new industries,” said Mr. Camhaji. “Supporting these entrepreneurs in the early stages of their companies and helping them cultivate talent as well as optimize and scale their operations is a tremendous opportunity, and I can’t wait to get started.”
About Rodrigo Baer
Mr. Baer is one of the pioneers of the venture capital industry in Brazil, investing in more than 20 companies since 2010. Mr. Baer is also a big contributor to the ecosystem through his YouTube Channel, “Pergunte ao VC”, and its founder education program, “VC for Founders”, at Cubo. Before Redpoint, Mr. Baer co-founded Warehouse Investments, was an Engagement Manager at McKinsey and worked in Aurora Funds, a Healthcare Services-focused venture capital fund in the U.S. He is also active with Endeavor and multiple angel groups. Mr. Baer holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and Undergraduate from EAESP-FGV.
About Marco Camhaji
Mr. Camhaji has had vast experience working with technology investments in Latin America since 2008. Prior to joining SoftBank, Mr. Camhaji was a Business Development Principal at Amazon, establishing strategic partnerships with fintech companies in Latin America. Mr. Camhaji also had experience as an operator as the CEO of Adianta, a Brazilian B2B invoice financing company. Previously, he was a Founder and Partner at Yellow Ventures, making seed investments in technology startups. Mr. Camhaji was also a Partner and CFO of Redpoint eVentures, one of the main early-stage venture capital funds in the region. Earlier in his career, he was also the CFO of successful startups, including Movile and Apontador. Mr. Camhaji is also a volunteer member of BayBrazil, and has acted as part of the Advisory Committee since 2014. Mr. Camhaji holds a Master’s in Management from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.S. in Law and Accounting from EAESP-SP.
About SoftBank
The SoftBank Group invests in breakthrough technology to improve the quality of life for people around the world. The SoftBank Group is comprised of SoftBank Group Corp. (TOKYO: 9984), an investment holding company that includes stakes in telecommunications, internet services, AI, smart robotics, IoT and clean energy technology providers; the SoftBank Vision Funds, which are investing more than US$135 billion to help extraordinary entrepreneurs transform industries and shape new ones; the US$5 billion SoftBank Latin America Fund, the largest venture fund in that region; the newly-launched US$3 billion SoftBank Latin America Fund II; and the SB Opportunity Fund, a US$100 million fund dedicated to investing in enterprises founded by entrepreneurs of color in the U.S. To learn more, please visit https://group.softbank/en.