Why We Invested in Mendel

By Ian Cox Moya and Rachel Zabronsky

At PayPal Ventures, we’re passionate about backing bold teams that are solving real-world pain points with scalable, high-impact solutions. We see compelling opportunities to do so in Latin America, where many businesses struggle to automate financial tasks like invoicing, expense management, payroll, and financial reporting. Part of the problem is that many of these businesses still rely on fragmented, outdated systems to manage corporate expenses – systems that are often poorly localized and painfully manual.

That’s why when we met the Mendel team, we knew they were one to watch. Mendel is building a localized SaaS-first expense management and corporate card platform that is easy to use and reduces financial risk. We’re thrilled to announce our participation in Mendel 's Series B round, alongside our friends at Base10 Partners , Infinity Ventures , Industry Ventures , and Y Combinator .

The Opportunity

For enterprises in Latin America, managing expenses is more than just a financial task – it’s a regulatory requirement and operational challenge. Many companies still rely on manual processes, workarounds, outdated software, and inadequate solutions that don’t meet the needs of either CFOs or employees. Global platforms in the space often fail to effectively localize their offerings, leaving enterprises without a tailored, modern solution that meets the needs of their local markets and regulatory idiosyncrasies.

When researching the expense management landscape in LATAM, we interviewed one former corporate expense manager from a large multinational who shared this insight: “Anyone outside our US headquarters [shares the same feedback] … existing solutions are US/EU specific systems that attempt – poorly – to flex globally. They just don’t work.”

As venture investors, when something doesn’t work, we get nerdily excited because we see an opening for innovators with big ideas and new technology at their fingertips to solve a real-world problem. 

Why We're Excited

At Mendel, they’ve seized the opportunity. They’ve gotten their product just right. The combination of their dynamic budget and card controls, automated tax compliance, flexible bill pay solution, and integrated travel booking is delightful. It minimizes enterprise operational and financial risk, while also earning advocates amongst employees who love the transparency, ease of use, and workflow improvements.

We believe that financial automation in Latin America is at an inflection point, and Mendel is uniquely positioned to lead this transformation. We are particularly bullish about its bank partnership strategy, in which Mendel offers white-labeled solutions to their bank customers. Banks in the region have the relationships, reputation, and balance sheets to manage their corporate customers’ expenses, however, some lack the technology. Banks can leverage Mendel’s modular, customizable, and battle-tested platform to expand their offerings with tailored services. Providing a “powered by Mendel” platform to bank customers is a win-win-win – for banks, their customers, and Mendel.

We’ve had the distinct pleasure of getting to know Mendel co-founder Alan Karpovsky and his team over the last 2+ years. We’ve been excited to watch their growth, and impressed by the team’s impeccable “say-do” ratio. They are passionate and empathetic about their customers’ needs – and it shows.

Looking Ahead

We are thrilled to support Mendel’s next phase of growth. At PayPal Ventures, we invest in companies that don’t just optimize existing systems but fundamentally redefine them. Mendel is building the future of corporate expense management in LATAM, and we are excited to be part of the journey.

Set up a demo to see how Mendel can revolutionize your company’s finances: https://mendel.com/en-ar/product/

Check out open roles at Mendel: https://jobs.paypal.vc/jobs/mendel