Frubana: Betting $270M on LATAM's small restaurants

Colombian-founded Frubana is aiming for Nubank-grade impact but is targeting a different user persona.

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Discreet cornerstones

Only a small number of professions can claim that their disappearance would cause instant societal collapse. “Farmer” is one of those professions that can. In charge of producing what keeps humans alive, their fundamental importance has become an afterthought for many urbanites. The rise of machines has led to their numerical decrease, but their primordial societal function remains unaltered.

Similar to teachers and nurses, farmers’ key societal role has rarely been rewarded with enjoyable living conditions or exuberant wealth. Farmers get up early, work long hours, and live far from most cultural offerings. Revenues might fluctuate and can be affected by factors entirely out of their control, such as the weather.

In LATAM, all of the aforementioned elements hold true. Farmers sell their products early in the morning at markets, sometimes traveling long distances to do so. People on the buying side, such as small restaurant owners, perform the same draining dawn-hour routine.