Gavea Marketplace

Gavea Marketplace, established in Rio de Janeiro in 2019, operates as a digital trading platform for physical commodities, with a primary focus on the agricultural sector. The company was co-founded by CEO Vítor Uchôa Nunes, a former executive director at BTG Pactual with a background in finance and economics; Diogo Iafelice, who comes from a family of traders and serves as Growth Director; and Bruno Holtz, the CTO and software analyst. Nunes's decade-long tenure in banking, particularly in commodities and innovation, revealed a gap in the market where agricultural trading processes remained largely analog and dependent on intermediaries. This insight was the catalyst for creating Gavea.

The firm provides a blockchain-based platform designed to connect buyers and sellers directly, aiming to streamline the trading, execution, and settlement of agricultural goods. This technology facilitates greater efficiency by offering features like binding orders, digital contract generation, and access to real-time market data. A key component of the platform is its emphasis on end-to-end traceability and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) validation, allowing users to verify a product's origin and confirm its environmental certifications. Initially, Gavea launched as an open marketplace, a digital exchange for agricultural commodities. However, observing market resistance to fully self-service, high-volume digital trading, the company pivoted its primary focus to a "Private Marketplace" model. This service allows large agricultural companies to create their own branded, private trading environments to negotiate directly with their network of suppliers and clients, a model that has attracted customers like Amaggi and Cofco.

Gavea generates revenue through its software-as-a-service offerings. The business has secured significant financial backing, raising approximately $4.5 million through several funding rounds. A pre-seed round in 2020, led by Domo Invest, brought in around R$2.4 million, followed by a substantial seed round of approximately $4 million in January 2022, led by Astella Investimentos and including investors such as Mercado Bitcoin's holding company, 2TM. These funds are earmarked for platform enhancement and international expansion.

Keywords: agricultural commodities trading, blockchain marketplace, agtech, fintech, physical commodities, ESG traceability, commodity exchange, digital trade finance, supply chain technology, sustainable agriculture, private marketplace, Vítor Uchôa Nunes, Diogo Iafelice, Bruno Holtz, soft commodities, trade execution, settlement platform, origin traceability, environmental certification, digital contracts, agrifood tech