Brazilian financial technology (fintech) firm Avante recently raised an undisclosed amount of funding from FiinLab, a unit of Mexico’s Gentera Group; Oikocredit, a Dutch cooperative; and Vox Capital, a Brazilian investor in education, health and financial services. The sizes of the stakes taken by each have not been disclosed. Of the three investors, only Vox was previously a stakeholder in the firm. Avante plans to use the fresh funds on technology to assist in the firm’s growth.
Avante offers loans in amounts from BRL 400 (USD 100) to BRL 14,200 (USD 3,400) to people who have been in business for at least one year. Since the firm was founded in 2012, it has lent BRL 207 million (USD 50 million) to 65,000 microenterprises. Earlier in 2018, it launched a point-of-sale (POS) system that allows retailers to accept card payments via their mobile phones. The firm has 200 employees in Brazil and its technology office in Israel.
Valeria Gelsi, an equity investment officer with Oikocredit, said, “We’re excited about Avante’s potential for empowering people at the base of the pyramid by serving micro-entrepreneurs with an innovative digital solution…. Targeting social impact is central to Oikocredit’s work, and we’re very pleased to have found a shared social mission in Avante.”
The Gentera Group controls microfinance institutions serving 3.2 million people in Guatemala, Mexico and Peru with an aggregate portfolio of MXP 32 billion (USD 1.7 billion). The group reports return on equity of 19 percent and return on assets of 7.2 percent as of 2018.
Also as of 2018, Oikocredit has EUR 980 million (USD 1.1 billion) in outstanding capital invested in 700 firms, including 500 involved in financial inclusion.
Vox has two funds with a total of 11 equity investments in companies serving a total of 1.9 million people in Brazil as of 2017.
Sources and Additional Resources
Oikocredit press release
https://www.oikocredit.coop/k/n2613/news/view/277322/9049/oikocredit-invests-in-brazilian-fintech-avante-to-support-one-million-micro-entrepreneurs-by-2021.html
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