Moeda on the media: Estadão
‘From each little seed, we grow larger and gain more ground,’ states the president of fintech Moeda
Created 3 years ago, the fintech Moeda began by offering a microcredit and acceleration program to help farmers, small cooperatives and artisans
Mônica Scaramuzzo, O Estado de S. Paulo June 1, 2020 |5:00 am
Created 3 years ago, the fintech Moeda began by offering a microcredit and acceleration program in an effort to help farmers, small cooperatives and artisans, geared towards supporting family farming and quilombola communities. Taynnah Reis, the 32-year-old creator of the project, raised US$ 20 million through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) with Chinese investors who expressed interest in becoming part of Taynnah’s inclusion project.
Right before the quarantine commenced, Moeda launched a marketplace platform to drive sales of organic food and artisanal crafts. The business was propelled during the Covid-19 crisis and should exceed the target set of R$ 500,000 in sales in its first year of activity.
What is Moeda?
Moeda is a fintech that focuses on the environment and food security. The company is not only committed to working with microcredit but also with a group of companies that concentrate on environmental issues and food security.
How does Moeda bridge the gap between entrepreneurs and consumers?
We created a marketplace online platform that connects the producer directly to the retail consumer. Payment is effected online and falls directly into the entrepreneur’s account.
What’s being offered for sale?
There are agricultural produce available that have been grown organically, as well as local handicrafts.
Has the project shifted at all due to the Covid-19 outbreak?
Quite the contrary. The pandemic raised people’s awareness. They started helping small local farmers and began to purchase products from these communities because they understood that the major retail chains would be able to withstand the crisis. We set a target for R$ 500,000 in sales in the first year of operation. In these two months alone, we’ve already hit the R$ 100,000 mark. Delivery had originally been a secondary priority, but it turned into a central focus as a result of the crisis.
Which regions is Moeda active in?
We are operating in five states — Goiás, Minas Gerais, Ceará, Paraná and São Paulo, plus the Federal District.
Moeda was originally oriented toward offering microcredit to small-scale entrepreneurs. How much has been allocated?
We have committed R$ 5 million in credit and microcredit into 23 start-up projects. Our portfolio includes 50 projects, and we intend to raise between R$ 50 million and R$ 100 million this year through social impact funds.
Where did the inspiration for your project come from?
I worked for 16 years providing technology support to the Brazilian government. My father, who worked with family farming and cooperatives, was also an important inspiration for me.
