SMBs based in Latin America have received another boost in lending services with the recent $4 million investment in Kala, a Colombia-headquartered firm creating Fintech infrastructure for enabling more efficient lending.
The firm, which has been co-founded by Manuel Alemán, Rodolfo Lazo and Pablo Cattólica (last year), is focused on creating a vertical (software-as-a-service) SaaS product for financial institutions such as banks as well as credit unions. These institutions aim to establish and run their own suite of credit products.
Alemán, who has considerable experience working in microfinance, said that the lack of inclusion and fair access to funding in the LatAm region is responsible for relatively low loan penetration rates (in the low double-digits in various cases).
In statements shared with TechCrunch, Alemán said:
“We turn any lender into a fintech lender. Our goal is to increase financial inclusion in Latin America and empower small banks and credit unions to serve the underserved markets.”
As noted in the update, Kala began operations back in July 2022.
Within the initial 6 months, the firm claims it acquired three clients, two based in Colombia and one operating in Mexico. These clients are using the product and dispersing it to more than 50,000 customers.
Kala reportedly charges an SaaS fee and is reporting growth in revenue.
Now working with additional capital, the firm joins other fast-growing Fintech firms — for instance, Kredito, Mono, among others — offering various options for companies to obtain access to reliable credit solutions.
The recent capital injection, which was secured back in December 2022, brings the firm’s overall funding to $6 million. The funding round was reportedly led by Cometa and included contributions from Acrew, Canary, Clocktower as well as 99 Startups.
The firm has 28 workers on its payroll and will disburse the funds to support the ongoing expansion of its product, technology, customer acquisition as well as client support teams. Kala added that it will aim to focus on Colombian and Mexican markets for now.
Alemán added:
“It’s a perfect time for Kala because banks understand how difficult it is to get a credit product started. We can do this in weeks, not years, and we aim to become the standard for fintech lending in Latin America.”