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- VC Mx: Adriana Saman, Managing Director, Clocktower Ventures
VC Mx: Adriana Saman, Managing Director, Clocktower Ventures
Clocktower Ventures is a macro-driven VC fund backing early-stage fintech startups in emerging markets like Latin America.
Mack Meyer
July 01, 2025
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Clocktower Ventures is a macro-driven, early-stage VC fund investing at the intersection of financial services and technology. With deep roots in traditional macro investing, the firm brings a thoughtful and thematic approach to fintech, especially in emerging markets like Latin America.
We try to find a macro trend and be an expert. That’s the Clocktower way.
At the helm of their LatAm strategy is Adriana Saman, Managing Director at Clocktower Ventures. Originally from Ecuador, Adriana’s path to venture capital was anything but linear. She began her career in investment banking at J.P. Morgan before transitioning into early-stage investing. Her journey, from Wall Street to backing fintech entrepreneurs across Latin America, has been guided by a mission to expand access to financial services.
I always wanted to aid financial inclusion. To now be part of the stories of founders actually building these solutions,it’s a full circle moment for me.
Since joining Clocktower in 2018, Adriana has led the firm’s LatAm strategy, helping build one of the region’s prominent fintech portfolios.
Clocktower Ventures Investment Thesis
At Clocktower Ventures, the investment thesis is rooted in one core idea: seed is a bet on people, not just products.
If you're not making the right decisions, you're not going to get to the outcome. For seed, it's all about the fundamental quality. That can mean many things in fintech, but it always starts with the founder.
Investing in Mexico: Ximple, Grupago, Niko
Clocktower’s Mexico portfolio includes Ximple, Grupago, and Niko Energy. Each reflects the firm’s focus on backing outstanding founders building products uniquely suited to the region.
Daniel and Uri were longtime friends of my partner Ben. Founder quality is always the North Star. These two stood out immediately.
Ximple and Grupago serve Mexico’s underserved credit segments. Both rely on human-centered distribution models that don’t translate from other markets.
There’s something very Mexican about how these businesses scale. You can’t always replicate this with a machine. It’s local knowledge, social trust, and community.
Niko Energy began as a climate bet. With a background in cloud kitchens, the founders had proven they could operate capital-intensive models in tough environments.
We backed Niko through our climate strategy, but the story quickly evolved. QED led the next round with a fintech angle. That overlap says a lot about the region. Climate and credit go hand in hand.
Fund Structure & Investment Flexibility
Clocktower Ventures operates with two complementary strategies: its Seed Book, which backs founders at the earliest stages, and a Series A strategy, which allows the team to double down on traction or enter later-stage rounds with conviction.
This structure wasn’t always in place. Adriana Saman recalled a time when the firm had rigid criteria around round structure, one that led them to pass on Xepelin, despite believing in the founder.
We had a rule that we wouldn’t do bridges. We were a smaller fund, and it felt like too much financing risk. But it hurt, because it wasn’t the founder or the business that was the issue. It was the structure.
That decision sparked internal conversations that shaped their current model. Today, Clocktower has the flexibility to act on conviction, whether it’s a clean seed round or a more complex entry point.
We’ve evolved a lot. Now we can back the right people, regardless of the technicalities around the round. Some of our best relationships have started in moments others hesitate.
This flexibility allows Clocktower to stay founder-aligned while navigating the often nonlinear capital paths common in emerging markets like Latin America.
Identifying Emerging Opportunities
At Clocktower Ventures, identifying opportunity starts with founders, but expands with thematic clarity. The firm takes a macro view, aligning fund strategies with regional trends such as payments infrastructure, embedded finance, and climate innovation.
Adriana Saman explained how her thinking around fintech has evolved over time.
We’ve become much more sophisticated when thinking about Latin America. Exits take longer, so you start asking: where could international buyers come in one day? What verticals are so core they’ll always matter? That’s what led us deeper into payments. It’s the backbone of financial services.
That openness to change is now part of Clocktower’s core. With multiple vertical-focused vehicles, including a dedicated climate strategy, the firm continues to evolve its thesis while staying grounded in founder-first investing.
We want to be there when the founder needs someone to believe early. That’s when the most interesting companies take shape.
Future Plans and Growth
Looking ahead, Clocktower Ventures plans to deepen its footprint across Latin America by focusing on market timing, macro trends, and founder quality. Adriana emphasized the firm’s evolving approach to evaluating sectors, particularly as exit timelines in the region require longer-term thinking.
Adriana explained that not all fintech categories evolve at the same pace in Latin America. While payments remain foundational, some segments, like insurance may not yet be ready for wide adoption.
You start to realize that certain sectors, even if the idea is right, might not be the right timing. We've learned over time which areas have real traction potential and which still need to mature.
Recent fund initiatives reflect this thinking, including a climate strategy focused on scalable, capital-efficient solutions. The goal is to stay close to founders from seed onward, backing local insights and building long-term category leaders in markets like Mexico, Brazil, and Chile.
We’re constantly asking: what’s the kind of product that one day attracts international interest? Where can we enter early and support something that scales beyond borders?
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