Finkargo, a startup founded a year ago in Bogota, dedicated to supporting operations and providing financing for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to trade internationally, announced today that it has obtained a US$75 million structured loan from Community Investment Management (CIM), a San Francisco-based investment fund that has previously invested in the region in the fintech companies Stori (Mexico) and Xepelin (Chile).
The start-up announced that the funds will accelerate the growth of more than 600 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Colombia. Alejandro Arenas, CIM’s Investment Principal, said in a statement that he is excited about investing in a company that, in his words, is transforming financial inclusion and the growth of MSMEs in the region. “Finkargo’s mission is aligned with our vision of supporting financial technology solutions that generate real and scalable impact in underserved sectors,” he said.
In the same document, Finkargo says that financing is one of the barriers that most affects the internationalization of these types of companies. “Ninety percent of foreign trade transactions require some type of financing, insurance or guarantee, which reflects the prominence of access to financing to participate in it. However, globally, MSMEs face a foreign trade credit rejection rate of over 50%. In Latin America alone, it is estimated that there is a foreign trade financing gap of US$350 billion,” the company says. They then list some benefits they offer to this type of business: greater bargaining power with suppliers, product diversification, agility in obtaining capital, and guarantees adjusted to the reality of their business.
Finkargo’s CEO, Santiago Molina, said: “If the SMBs we finance manage to accelerate their growth and profitability, our objective will be fulfilled. We will then be able to continue setting investment goals that are not only larger, but also more inclusive for those companies that still cannot access the international market due to lack of capital.”
Prior to this financing, Finkargo had a US$7.5 million seed round in April, in which Quona, Flybridge, Maya Capital, and One VC participated.
Main image: Finkargo
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