GMB - What is your assessment of Caf's performance and growth in 2022? Was it what you expected or did it exceed expectations?
Darryl Green - 2022 was a transformative year for us as we embarked on our ambitious goals to grow our footprint in Brazil, launch new and innovative products, expand into new segments and use cases, while laying the groundwork for expansion global. As we look back over the past year, I couldn't be more proud of what we've achieved as a team. We successfully leveraged our Series A to invest in our growth, hired some of the best and proven leaders around the world and successfully achieved all the targets we set for this year. Unlike many of the technology companies in Brazil and around the world that have felt the impact of changing market conditions, we have increased our headcount and recorded impressive revenue growth.
Could you list the main accomplishments or goals achieved?
Caf was founded in 2019 and, as we celebrate our 3-year anniversary in August 2022, it is evident that we have come a long way. 2022 was the year that changed the trajectory of our business. Looking back, some of the key achievements that come to mind focus on our customers and employees. We expanded our customer base and revenue by 2.5X. This came from a combination of new customers, new segments and new use cases. We continue on the path of product innovation and release some of the most innovative features.
In a year when companies around the world were cutting people, we nearly doubled our headcount, expanded into international markets, and added some of the best-known professionals in the global identity industry to our leadership team, including Jason Howard, Emma Lindley, Vanita Pandey, Simmone LeBlanc and Corey Levin, in addition to strategic names for our board of directors, such as Alex Brito, Andre Edelbrock and Trevor Clarke.
Another major goal we achieved in February 2022 was the international iBeta certification, which placed us as the first and only Brazilian IDtech certified by ISO/IEC 30107-3 iBeta.
In your sector within the industry, what topics or technological advances do you think will dominate the market in 2023? What will be the future trends?
In a digital world, identity is the real currency and this is reflected in the investments being made and the pace of innovation associated with this segment. As more and more businesses and services move into the digital world, new form factors for onboarding and authenticating users will emerge. In 2023, we will see widespread adoption of user biometrics, both online and at the point of sale, we will see continued investment in creating an inclusive identity platform that offers the same level of access and ease to all people, regardless of their background and economic ability, and we will see the move towards a global identity base, where users from anywhere in the world can be authenticated with a single database.
Another strong trend is the decentralization of data, which makes users the true owners of their data, at the same time that this same data can be used to increase security in logins and transactions.
Have you noticed that the Brazilian gaming market has evolved this year, or has it missed another opportunity? What do you see about the regulation in the country for 2023?
The sports betting market has certainly seen remarkable maturity over the last year. There are several important trends that will continue to shape the future of this industry, in Brazil and around the world. This includes the rapid digitization of users, the continued acceptance of sports betting as a form of entertainment, the continuous innovation of the sports betting platform to make the process easier and more social. The possibility of regulation and the associated promise of making Brazil one of the main focuses of global operators brought many good initiatives, making this sector even more a big bet. Although the regulation did not materialize this year, 2023 promises to be the year that will realize the potential of this market, from users, to companies and to the government.
What are Caf's main goals/objectives for 2023?
In 2023, our focus will be on executing on the plans built during this year, expanding our presence in Brazil, driving growth in our key international markets and delivering innovative identity and account security solutions that will redefine the identity market globally.
Source: Exclusive GMB
