Thought Machine Expands to South America Through Chilean Cordada

Thought Machine, the London-based cloud banking technology company, announced its expansion in Latin America through Cordada, a Chilean company that offers solutions for fintech and lenders serving SMEs in the region – and its most recent client.

Cordada, which operates in Chile, Peru, and Mexico, plans to leverage Thought Machine’s Vault platform to enter new markets and expand its loan solutions.

“Vault Core will allow us to create highly differentiated financial products quickly and effortlessly, without relying on Thought Machine’s team,” said Cordada’s co-founder and CEO, Andrés Prats.

By joining Thought Machine’s extensive client list, Cordada aligns with other significant entities, such as LATAM’s fintech C6 Bank, Lloyds Banking Group, Standard Chartered Bank, and Curve.

“This move aims to empower the next generation of SME lenders to develop modern solutions while addressing the significant challenge of closing the financial gap of USD $1 billion for SMEs in Latin America,” Prats explained.

Thought Machine’s founder and CEO, Paul Taylor, expressed optimism that Cordada’s integration with its technology will empower lenders of all sizes and provide high-quality financing options to SMEs throughout Latin America, ushering in a new era in financing for businesses in the region.

Fintechs in Latin America are crucial in reducing the financial gap for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), helping these companies build resilience and mitigate the adverse economic impacts of the global pandemic. According to a study conducted by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in 2022, the fintech ecosystem in the region is specifically focused on providing access to financing for MSMEs.

Business size vs. intensity banking product use: Chile-Cambridge. (Source: Cambridge University / BID)

The study is based on a survey of 540 MSMEs and clients of 34 fintech platforms in six Latin American countries. The results reveal that 75% of the surveyed companies were microenterprises, which supports the idea that fintech is essential in financing the smallest companies.

In addition, although the average amount lent or raised was less than USD $4,000, highlighting the importance of microenterprises in the region, for 75% of respondents, the amounts ranged up to USD $20,000, reflecting significant intervention in the financial space of MSMEs.