This week’s Latin American Round Up brings news about iProspect Enterprise, which debuts its operations in Brazil; Colombia’s mobile market numbers, behind only Argentina and Chile in terms of mobile penetration; and Brazil’s newest startup accelerator: Smart Hub, which will focus on local players willing to work with data and performance in deals with agencies, advertisers, and publishers.

Dentsu Group open another digital agency in Brazil

iProspect Enterprise, part of Dentsu Aegis Group, started their operations in Brazil focusing on B2B deals. The business is led by Rodrigo Turra; who, since 2016, has been the general manager at iProspect Brazil.

The agency will hire 50 new people in Sao Paulo and Curitiba. Globally, the company has big IT brands as clients, such as Intel, Siemens, and Lenovo. In Brazil, the local technology manufacturer Positivo Informática is in their portfolio alongside Partner Consulting and the construction company Cimento Itambé.

iProspect justify their local operations claiming that digital business in Brazil has been growing exponentially, citing a 2012 report by the local Internet Management Committee (Comitê Gestor da Internet), in which it was reported that 60% of Brazilian companies with internet access have made digital purchases in the past 12 months. Yet, only 12% use the web as a sales channel.

Colombia to have 33 million mobile users in 2016

Seven-in-ten consumers will be mobile phone users in Colombia by the end of the year. And, with mobile connection penetration above 100%, the country is one of the most mature and advanced mobile markets in South America, according to recent data unveiled by eMarketer.

By those numbers, Colombia will be behind only Chile and Argentina, whose mobile penetration is 73.9% and 71.4% respectively. The regional average is 65.9%. In four years, the mobile phone users in Colombia should reach 72.1% of the population, with a 1.5% user growth.

Mobile phone user growth has slowed, but not alarmingly. eMarketer’s estimates that Colombia finished 2015 with 32.4 million unique mobile users, a 2.1% year-on-year increase. The company forecasts it to rise to 33 million this year and 35.4 million by 2020, considering only individuals who used their devices at least once a month.

Much like the rest of Latin America, the market is concentrated on two big telcos: Spanish Telefónica and Mexican América Móvil, with 40.3% and 53.1% of the market, respectively. The number of mobile connections in Colombia stood at 56.4 million in 2015, and it is expected to rise to 62.5 million in 2020, according to 451 Research's estimates.

Smart Hub accelerator debuts in Sao Paulo and Rio

Smart Hub, digital business accelerator, announced their operations in Brazil with two offices, in Rio de Janeiro and in Sao Paulo. The accelerator already has two incubated startups; however, they did not reveal their names yet.

The company was founded by performance and data experts in Brazil, and it is focusing on finding local companies aiming to deal with data analytics and data management. José Reinaldo, co-founder and stakeholder, said in a statement that their goal is to help local startups in establishing themselves in the local scenario, subsidising their technologies and operations.

“With an increased demand for data, and purchases that are more efficient and predictive, we are looking for companies willing to work in partnerships with agencies, brands, publishers, and advertisers”, said Otávio Martins, co-founder, Smart Hub.