With over a decade of experience in banking, entrepreneurship, and leadership, Edwin shares a deep and unfiltered perspective on the present and future of the sector. From the evolution of open finance to the challenges of scaling a business in the region, including the role of regulation, investment, and customer trust.
Edwin Zácipa,“What we do is make visible, connect, and support all the players who are driving the fintech sector in Latin America.”
Founder and President of Fintech Latam Hub.
The journey of Edwin Zácipa: From traditional banking to the heart of fintech
Our guest began the interview by reviewing his professional path. His career started in traditional banking in Colombia, where he specialized in business intelligence and the development of statistical models for commercial strategies.
However, his drive for innovation led him to dive headfirst into entrepreneurship. “I’ve founded startups from scratch to raising capital, I’ve failed, I’ve learned… I even had my own fintech,” he confessed with honesty and humor.
Edwin then decided to create the Fintech Association of Colombia, where he helped build the movement from the ground up. He now leads Latam Fintech Hub, the most active fintech community in Latin America, with over 30,000 members.
Edwin Zácipa’s influence in the Latin American financial ecosystem
In addition to his work at the Hub, Edwin advises financial institutions, payment companies, insurers, funds, and banks throughout the region. “I’m an advisor, board member, consultant, mentor to many companies of all levels and sizes,” he said, showcasing the extent of his influence.
Even in his free time, he teaches and shares his experience with university communities like AFI in Spain, where he lectures on digital payments and open finance. “You share a master’s class with our CEO and co-founder, David Conde,” Juanjo commented, much to his surprise.
The fintech landscape in Latin America: Diversity, growth, and challenges
Our CMO asked about the current state of the fintech sector in the region. Edwin was clear: “The fintech industry is very heterogeneous, with business models of different sizes and natures… They all operate differently, with varying speeds and audiences.”
He emphasized that the region is experiencing its best moment. “The fintech boom continues, with over 4,000 fintech initiatives mapped throughout the region,” he noted. Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia lead the activity, not just by the number of startups, but also across five key variables: Regulation, investment, talent, demand, and infrastructure.
Regulation
Edwin explained: “Each country has a rather intense regulatory agenda around fintech.” He pointed to discussions on digital currencies in Brazil, the revision of the fintech law in Mexico, and the implementation of immediate payments in Colombia.
Investment
The region’s appeal to global funds, especially venture capital and private equity, is undeniable: “LatAm is the best place for global investors,” he stated. He also highlighted the professionalization of talent and the importance of demand.
Talent
Our guest stressed that talent is quickly being trained. The tech sector’s demands are being met by a highly specialized and well-educated workforce. The financial industry is hiring the best developers to stay relevant.
Demand
For Edwin, this is the most important factor, as the region still has low financial inclusion. It is essential to bridge the gap in access and usage of banking services. “Latin America is a sexy market for deploying this kind of business model,” he assured.
Infrastructure
This aspect is undergoing major modernization, with banks collaborating with fintechs and developing new integration models. “More and more, banks are integrating, modernizing their infrastructure, and collaborating with these kinds of businesses,” he observed.
Fintech learnings have a “contagion effect” across the region
Juanjo wanted to know what other LatAm countries can learn from regional leaders: Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. Edwin pointed out that although each market has its specific characteristics, there’s a “contagion effect” when it comes to adopting innovations.
“Everything we do in one country, we start implementing in another,” he explained. For example, Colombia’s shift toward open finance and immediate payments follows in Brazil’s footsteps, while Central American countries are beginning to explore digital wallets and cloud-based financial services.
Investment pulse: lights and shadows for 2025
The executive acknowledged the current scenario is challenging, after the years of abundant liquidity post-pandemic. “Fintech remains the apple of everyone’s eye in the ecosystem,” he assured, noting that nearly 50% of Tech Venture Capital continues to invest in the sector.
However, investment volumes have returned to pre-pandemic levels. “In 2021, LatAm raised –in debt and equity– over $13 billion… Today, we’re not surpassing $3 billion,” he said.
Tightened financial conditions, inflation, and profitability pressure have forced companies to be more disciplined. Despite some investors’ caution, Edwin expressed optimism for 2025: “This first Q has started off really well.” He cited notable rounds such as Solfácil in Brazil ($170M), Plata in Mexico ($160M), and Clara ($80M).
The leading community in the region: Latam Fintech Hub
The conversation then focused on Latam Fintech Hub, the community Edwin leads. He explained how the Hub started in early 2020, right at the start of the pandemic, as a response to the lack of regional information and structure in the sector.
“That was the purpose of starting the Hub, as a space to consolidate how the industry was progressing,” he recalled. From an information portal, it evolved into an open community that recognizes the people behind fintech companies, “the ones driving powerful changes in the sector.”
Latam Fintech Hub is built on three main pillars: generating content and daily sector monitoring, creating networking spaces across the region, and providing consulting and investment banking services.
💡 Edwin Zácipa said…
“When a startup wants to enter the fintech world, we help them structure their business case from start to finish.”
Scalability is still the main challenge for fintechs
Our guest explained that building profitable, sustainable, and replicable businesses across markets and niches remains complex. “In Colombia, wallets are created every day, but many also fail,” he noted.
Scalability intersects with the need for investment and regulation. “To scale, I need funding. But to get funding, I need a license from the regulator. And for an investor to fund me, I need to show clean accounts,” Edwin summed up. It’s the classic chicken-and-egg dilemma.
Today, the most celebrated headlines are no longer about user numbers or downloads, but about fintechs reaching breakeven. “That’s a metric being demanded not just by investors, but by the whole industry,” he pointed out. Profitability and social and environmental sustainability have also become key success standards.
Collaboration and the future of fintech-bank integration
Juanjo then asked about the collaboration between banks and fintechs, a key topic in Europe. Edwin celebrated that in Latin America, the antagonistic view is now a thing of the past: “At first, banks saw fintechs as a threat, but today the discourse is about cooperation.”
He explained that banks have robust but slow architectures, while fintechs are agile but with limited capacity. “That’s why we talk about collaboration,” he said, and shared the term “fintegration” to describe the cooperation models between both worlds.
Edwin differentiated between closed innovation (banks innovating alone) and open innovation (banks seeking partnerships). “Those financial institutions applying an open innovation strategy accelerate their R&D cycles, discover new demands, new niches, and new sources of income,” he assured.
Advice for fintechs entering Latin America
Lastly, we asked Edwin for some recommendations for fintechs looking to expand into Latin America. He highlighted the need to deeply understand each country’s regulations, establish strategic alliances, and have a business model flexible enough to adapt and scale quickly.
Before closing, he left a clear message: “The financial system in Latin America is built on trust,” and that must be the starting point for any company aiming to succeed in the region.
“The main requirement is: how do you build trust? I believe being regulated is the most powerful driver of trust.” For Edwin, obtaining a license and becoming a recognized and legitimate player is a turning point for any fintech aiming to grow in Latin America.
Did you enjoy this summary? Don’t miss the next episode of our podcast, where we continue exploring the future of banking, innovation, and financial technology in the region. Thanks for reading!
