- The freelance economy in Latin America demands tailored financial solutions
- In the region, there are over 15 million freelancers; many of them are service exporters.
- The case of takenos: the wallet that started by offering niche solutions in Argentina and plans to expand into Mexico.
In a context marked by certain banking restrictions, high fees, and regulatory challenges, freelancers have long lacked financial tools to manage the payment for their exportable services in Latin America.
Some fintech wallets have emerged as a lifesaver for managing international payments for this segment, currency conversion, and access to basic and advanced financial services.
An underserved segment
In Latin America, the Orange Economy has experienced significant growth in recent years. (This term, coined by British economist John Howkins, refers to the knowledge and creativity industries, where added value comes from the generation and exploitation of intangible assets.) This sector generates 3% of global GDP and 2.2% of GDP in Latin America and the Caribbean, encompassing the majority of freelancers and SMEs that export their professional or creative services.
According to data from the Inter-American Development Bank, there are over 15 million workers in the freelance economy in the region. However, high fees and long processing times for international payments reduce their earnings and complicate the financial management of these workers.
In Argentina alone, the export of professional services (such as programming, translation, advertising, etc.) reached a historic high in 2022, exceeding $16.5 billion (including companies, SMEs, and freelancers), with the main destinations for these exports being the United States and Europe.
Wallets for the freelance economy
In Argentina, for example, due to a currency regulation imposed in 2019, freelancers cannot receive dollars in their bank accounts.
Approximately 600,000 people in Argentina export work, and in this context, Takenos emerged in 2022, a fintech that designed a tailored solution for this segment and has already surpassed 100,000 users.
The fintech has developed a niche approach, designing its platform to address the specific needs of Argentine freelancers. Simón Bouché, one of the co-founders of the startup, defines it this way: “It’s the most comprehensive solution for the segment working without borders from Argentina. Our focus on this segment allows us to maintain a close relationship and effectively engage with these users through our value proposition and communication. The app design, brand strength, personalized support, and functionalities are optimized for the niche.” He adds that they aim to “continue generating differentiators; for example, by offering simplified credit and investment tools to have a significant impact on the segment.”
“Takenos is just in its early days; there’s much more value and differentiation ahead, but we are confident in the team we have to achieve this. We’ve accomplished a lot with a fraction of the resources that many of our competitors had,” concludes the young entrepreneur.
Takenos allows freelancers to receive dollars, euros, and reais, and withdraw wallet balances in Argentine pesos or USDT, the most used cryptocurrency among Argentinians.
The fintech plans to expand into other Latin American markets in 2025: “We have been exploring, especially in Mexico, but we are still evaluating which market attracts us the most. We seek to choose a country where we can add a lot of value quickly, raising the standard of what currently exists. For now, the idea is to move into one country at a time to maintain a laser focus,” explains Bouché.
Regarding the technologies used for the app, the tech team at Takenos shares that they used “React Native, a React framework for developing native apps (Android and Apple) with a single codebase. For the backend and business logic, we use the same stack as our web app, a Next application with TRPC and TypeScript.”
Technologies and solutions
In the short term, the fintech plans to launch a local card so users can spend directly from their digital wallet, as well as offer the ability to pay for services and virtual accounts to receive international payments from other countries, and generate returns, among other features. They are also exploring implementing salary advances and mortgage loans.
Another distinctive feature that helped the app solidify its position is customer support. Although the company is already experimenting with bots and has plans to incorporate artificial intelligence, for now, human support remains the central pillar, with warm and personalized service.
