Back-Office Services Provider Bhub Raises $20 Million

Brazil’s newly launched back-office services provider Bhub has raised US$20 million, vowing to expand operations to more countries across Latin America.

Based in Sao Paulo, Bhub’s service is similar to that of a US startup Pilot. Backed by Jeff Bezos, Pilot is now valued at more than $1.2 billion.

Bhub takes charge of operating its customers’ important but non-core functions, such as customer service, legal, HR, and bookkeeping, freeing them to focus on their core business.

The company’s founder Jorge Vargas Neto says he found the demand for back-office services when he sold Zen Finance in 2020, according to Techcrunch.

The accountants he hired had messed up the books and his employees had to work hard for two weeks to fix it.  “It was hellish, but I’m grateful for that experience,” Neto recounted, explaining how he ended up launching a startup to provide back-office services.

Financial illiteracy and the poor management of accounting books could also be the major reason behind the closure of thousands of businesses in Brazil in 2020, Neto told the news outlet.

His competitors are large accounting firms, but Bhub says most of its rivals are not armed with the kind of technology solutions that it has lined up.

With around 50 staff, Bhub is currently serving more than 130 customers. However, the startup says it is confident of acquiring more than 2,000 customers by the end of 2022.