Nice read! Just a few thoughts as someone who lived in Argentina.First, Meli has a top analytics and AI team they acquired Machinalis years ago, a company with top Machine Learning talent. The caveat is the informality in Latin America, which is still high: many transactions are still done via Facebook Marketplace, Telegram, and WhatsApp groups because informality and undeclared work are still huge there, plus the concept of "ferias" is important too. But Meli runs deep in Argentine culture in nearly every shop you'll find a QR code for using "MercadoPago," the "Apple Pay" of Meli. They also lend money and let you pay in installments, which matters in developing economies. A few weeks ago, Argentina approved a labor reform that should make declared employment easier and reduce informality, bringing more people into the banking system which could translate into more Meli usage.
That’s a really valuable perspective, thank you for sharing this.
The point about informality is especially important and something that’s easy to underestimate from the outside. It’s almost like Meli is not just competing with other platforms, but with an entire parallel economy that still operates off-platform.
At the same time, what you’re describing around MercadoPago being embedded in daily life is exactly what makes the story so interesting to me. Once you become the default layer for payments, lending, and installments, you’re not just a marketplace anymore, you’re infrastructure.
Also really interesting insight on the labor reform. If that actually brings more people into the formal system over time, it feels like a quiet but powerful tailwind that most investors won’t model properly.
Appreciate you adding this context, especially from firsthand experience in Argentina.
Nice read! Just a few thoughts as someone who lived in Argentina.First, Meli has a top analytics and AI team they acquired Machinalis years ago, a company with top Machine Learning talent. The caveat is the informality in Latin America, which is still high: many transactions are still done via Facebook Marketplace, Telegram, and WhatsApp groups because informality and undeclared work are still huge there, plus the concept of "ferias" is important too. But Meli runs deep in Argentine culture in nearly every shop you'll find a QR code for using "MercadoPago," the "Apple Pay" of Meli. They also lend money and let you pay in installments, which matters in developing economies. A few weeks ago, Argentina approved a labor reform that should make declared employment easier and reduce informality, bringing more people into the banking system which could translate into more Meli usage.
That’s a really valuable perspective, thank you for sharing this.
The point about informality is especially important and something that’s easy to underestimate from the outside. It’s almost like Meli is not just competing with other platforms, but with an entire parallel economy that still operates off-platform.
At the same time, what you’re describing around MercadoPago being embedded in daily life is exactly what makes the story so interesting to me. Once you become the default layer for payments, lending, and installments, you’re not just a marketplace anymore, you’re infrastructure.
Also really interesting insight on the labor reform. If that actually brings more people into the formal system over time, it feels like a quiet but powerful tailwind that most investors won’t model properly.
Appreciate you adding this context, especially from firsthand experience in Argentina.
Love the conviction, best of luck. $MELI is my largest position.
Does this mean MELI has a stronger growth runway than RKLB?
Because that was previously in your portfolio as Top 4.