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Merqueo

“Can a vertically integrated dark-store grocery model become the dominant online supermarket across Latin America by controlling fulfilment and sourcing directly from brands?”

Founded2017
HQBogotá, Colombia (incorporated as MERQUEO S.A.S.; operational HQ Colombia with presence in Mexico and Brazil)
FoundersMiguel McAllister
Total raised$88M
Latest roundSeries C, 2021
IndustryE-commerce / Grocery & Quick-commerce
The story

Founded in 2017 by Miguel McAllister (previously co-founder of Domicilios.com, acquired by Delivery Hero), Merqueo was conceived from the outset as a vertically integrated online supermarket for Latin America — owning its dark-store fulfilment network rather than aggregating third-party retailers. After proving the model in Colombia, the company used its 2021 Series C to expand into Mexico and Brazil. Growth has since slowed and the company appears to have contracted to roughly 86 employees, with its embedded finance footprint limited to promotional banking and card partnerships rather than proprietary financial products.

Last 12 months
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Product timeline
2017
Merqueo founded in Bogotá, Colombia as a pure-play online supermarket with fully integrated grocery delivery service, bypassing traditional retail intermediaries.· pivot
2019
Raised $14M Series A led by Portland Private Equity; began building dark-store fulfilment infrastructure in Colombia.· banking
2021
Raised $50M Series C led by IDC Ventures, Digital Bridge, and IDB Invest to expand across Latin America into Mexico and Brazil.· acquisition
2021
Launched operations in Brazil and expanded blog/partnership programme for local market alliances.· pivot
2022
Formed promotional partnerships with Bancolombia (SOAT insurance) and Codensa (CRÉDITO FÁCIL card) in Colombia, enabling co-branded discount campaigns.· banking
The stack
0 layers disclosed in Merqueo’s embedded-finance stack
Accounting gap: significant