Brazil recorded, in 2024, a historic record of small business openings, surpassing the mark of 4,15 million new companies registered, among individual microentrepreneurs (MEI), microenterprises (ME) and small businesses (EPP), according to a survey conducted by Sebrae based on data from the Federal Revenue Service.To assist financial management, these new entrepreneurs have, now, a free platform that uses Artificial Intelligence and WhatsApp to automate payments to customers and suppliers. Recently launched, the fintech Jota is a financial assistant that allows users to manage their daily operations through audio messages, text and images in an AI-based chat conversation, everything through WhatsApp
In addition to assisting small business managers, including informal workers, the developers' proposal is to also benefit individuals who have accounts on WhatsApp to carry out everyday transactions.
In practice, Jota enables the execution of instant payments (Pix) and invoices, through audio, images and text messages, for one or several contacts, through an automatic favorites list, in addition to receiving or charging payments via QR Code PIX in a matter of seconds, no fees for the user. These features are executed just by talking and asking whatever you want about your business, and entrepreneurs can receive valuable insights, like financial calculations, daily billing reports and contextualized recommendations based on individual needs.
How Jota operates within WhatsApp, your tools ensure intuitive usability and eliminate the need for traditional banking apps. The free opening of Individual and Corporate accounts takes less than 3 minutes and can also be done via chat
The platform was founded by entrepreneur Davi Holanda, who has led projects in both pillars of financial operations: in acquiring, as a former executive of PagSeguro, where he led more than 15 products and contributed to the IPO on the NYSE; and in the banking sector, as founder and CEO of Bankly, developing a Banking as a Service (BaaS) that was acquired by Banco Votorantim in 2023
Market opportunity
According to a survey conducted by CEAPE (Center for Support of Small Enterprises),61% of Brazilian entrepreneurs in these profiles use notebooks to record income and expenses of their businesses. Other 14,5% of respondents stated that they use spreadsheets for this purpose, while 9,1% said they "control everything in their head". 7,9% responded that they do not use any of the tools mentioned in the survey, and only 7% have the support of an accounting office
In light of this scenario, and considering that millions of entrepreneurs and individuals do not have the time to manage their financial life in notebooks or spreadsheets nor the means to invest in expensive software and, frequently, do not receive the proper attention from traditional banking institutions, the revolutionary potential of Jota has sparked great interest in the market.
We see a clear opportunity to create a platform that simplifies management and financial operations for entrepreneurs, whether they are individuals or legal entities, and we are committed to helping you save time and money, developing solutions for daily operations, financial automation and payment journeys increasing profitability, shared Davi Holanda, co-founder and CEO
The fintech also announced the completion of its Seed round of $8 million,9 million, led by MAYA Capital, with participation from HOF Capital, BigBets, Alter Global, Bogari Capital, Norte Ventures and angel investors, like Bebeto Nogueira, founder of Segura and Scout of a16z, Fersen and Mateus Lambranho, Mauro D'Ancona, founder of 180 Seguros, Bernardo Lustosa, partner of ClearSale, Dennis Wang and Pedro Fiuza. The investment will support its amplification to a broader ecosystem, will accelerate brand growth and increase its customer base in Brazil
"With this new round of investment", we are committed to strengthening our technology teams, growth and marketing to build a brand recognized throughout Brazil, a product that truly benefits entrepreneurs and drives the expansion of the customer base. Furthermore, let's start an essential agenda of receivables and payments, addressing a critical need of entrepreneurs — and we are just getting started, strengthens the entrepreneur.
According to Holland, the feedback has been extremely positive, with clients saving 10 hours of work per month by making hundreds of transfers in a practical and efficient way. One of them commented: 'Jota changed my financial life, it's the kind of thing you didn't know you needed. Since I am always in a hurry, this makes my life much easier. I just need to forward a message on WhatsApp or send an audio message, and Jota executes the Pix in seconds. In a month, I saved over R$ 500 in fees
Monica Saggioro, co-founder of MAYA Capital, commented: "Jota solves a critical challenge (poor financial management) in the SME market, that moves billions of reais. This represents a huge opportunity, and Jota is perfectly positioned to take advantage of it. The caliber, the experience and vision of the team are simply inspiring and elevate the company to another level. "Our mission to support the best technical talents building startups in pursuit of unprecedented success in Latin America could not be better represented than by Jota"
The vision of the fintech is to simplify all aspects of financial management for Brazilian entrepreneurs who currently face a lot of complexity with the products and applications available in the market — and it seems that they are starting off on the right foot
