The gender gap goes beyond salaries or executive jobs; it also reaches financial products. Only about 49% of women have a bank account in Latin America, according to the Development Bank of Latin America.
Faced with this problem, Jefa was born: a Mexican fintech that wants to help bank women, and who recently raised an initial round of US$2 million.
In this round participated The Venture Collective, DST Global, Foundation Capital, Amador Holdings, The Fund, FINCA Ventures, Rarebreed VC, Siesta Ventures, Springbank Collective, Bridge Partners, Hustle Fund, Foundation Capital, Latitud, J20 and Magma Partners. They also have angel investors Daniel Bilbao, JP Duque, Ricardo Schaefer, Jean-Paul Orillac and Allan Arguello, Techcrunch reported.
Jefa also partnered with Visa in a multi-year agreement, so that the startup can use Visa’s tools and products to create its own financial products.
From Mexico to the Rest of LatAm
Jefa already has some active accounts. However, it is still waiting for its official launch. They plan to first launch their product in Mexico, and then in Colombia and Central America.
In fact, as of now, Jefa’s website tells users who want to open a new account in Mexico to wait, due to regulation changes for financial providers in the country.
Once women are able to use Jefa, they will be able to open their accounts for free and get a card a few days later. There will also be a feature that will allow them to save and complete P2P (peer-to-peer) payments.
It will even offer a rewards program for hygiene products or services relevant to women, such as gynecological consultations.
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