Polygon Fintech acquires Creze to support more Mexican SMEs

Contxto – DILA Capital and Mountain Nazca announced on May 10 that Polygon Fintech will acquire Creze for an undisclosed amount to better serve SMEs.

Creze is a Mexico City-based loan platform using specialized technology to help SMEs grow and improve capital management.

In Summary

While Creze provides quick and efficient unsecured online loans to SMEs, Polygon Fintech has traditionally focused on Mexico’s unbanked population. Following Creze’s exit, though, both parties will facilitate risk evaluation and streamline loan processes for partners.

“We are very happy with the exit and we think that under Polygon Fintech’s leadership, Creze will continue awarding credits to Mexico’s most deserving companies,” said Eduardo Clavé, director of DILA Capital.

“After entering Creze in October 2017, we have seen large market demand for products that it offers. Therefore, we think that this combination will provide an even better solution for SMEs.”

Creze marks the first exit of DILA Capital’s third fund, not to mention the third exit of Mountain Naza’s third fund.

In-Depth

Diego Creel, Gonzalo Cegarra and David Lask founded Creze in 2015 to assist SMEs hindered by standard bank loans. Together, the entrepreneurs created a model that reduces the normal amount of time required to facilitate credit distribution.

Compared to traditional banking methods, these entrepreneurs ultimately made it less cumbersome for SMEs to operate.

Increased credit capacity is an important topic in the Mexican economy considering that SMEs require at least US$60 billion in annual credit. These funds can go towards promoting new services, creating jobs, etc. However, the reality is that many young enterprises don’t get the support they need to thrive.

Some reports say that 80 percent of SMEs eventually stagnate in Mexico due to lack of credit or other financial resources. Even when they do get assistance, many have to pay annual interest rates of 96 percent. This creates the impression that big banks are only interested in serving large corporations.

“SME credit has become a forgotten sector by traditional financial institutions,” said one of Creze’s co-founders, David Lask. “Their products require the same conditions, payment system, commissions, interests and guarantees that cover large companies.”

Hopefully, this will change with more support from VC partners and third-party involvement.

“We continue to see a lot of third-party interest in portfolio companies and new rounds of financing,” said Clavé. “This is why we believe that this exit is a very good sign for the market and for us investors. We are proud of the Creze team and appreciative because they did an extraordinary job that produced excellent results in our investment.”

-JA