MercadoLibre

Latin American e-commerce and fintech company founded in 1999 by Marcos Galperin in Argentina. Started as an eBay-style auction marketplace during the dot-com boom, then expanded into payment processing (MercadoPago) and logistics (MercadoEnvios) when they realized Latin American infrastructure was inadequate.

The chapter highlights convergent evolution with Shopify: despite different starting points (marketplace-first vs. infrastructure-first), both converged on integrated e-commerce ecosystems. MercadoLibre's emphasis on fintech (peer-to-peer payments, QR codes in physical stores) reflects adaptation to Latin America's low financial inclusion, while its marketplace reflects the region's nascent e-commerce maturity in 1999.