Virgin Mobile Chile receives additional funding

Virgin Mobile Latin America has inked a funding agreement with IFC, a member of the World Bank, to support its Chilean operation.

The US$11 million debt facility will provide Virgin with “the capital to speed its entry into the Chilean mobile market”, the MVNO said in a statement.

Virgin is also in talks with IFC “about partnering to enhance the mobile market in a number of Latin American countries including Brazil and Colombia,” the company said in a statement.
Since its launch around four months ago, the Chilean operation has signed 65,000 customers, aiming at the youth market.

Earlier this year, Virgin Mobile Latin America secured US$26.5 million of equity funding to support its growth, from investors including Virgin Group and Hermes Growth Partners, a fund co-founded by former Telefonica head Juan Villalonga.

According to Wireless Intelligence figures, the Chilean market is dominated by Entel (9.8 million subscriptions), Telefonica’s Movistar (9.6 million) and America Movil’s Claro (5.7 million).