The lender Kala helps Latin American banks to offer credit more easily

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By Webdesk


Small businesses in Latin America got a new boost in lending support with the $4 million investment in Kala, a Colombia-based company building fintech infrastructure for lending.

Co-founded by Manuel Alemán, Rodolfo Lazo and Paul Cattólica in 2022, the company is developing a vertical SaaS product for institutions, such as banks and credit unions, that want to launch and operate their own credit products.

Alemán, who has a background in microfinance, explained that the lack of inclusion and access to capital in Latin America is responsible for low lending penetration rates, in many cases in the low double digits.

“We turn any lender into a fintech lender,” Alemán told TechCrunch. “Our goal is to increase financial inclusion in Latin America and empower small banks and credit unions to serve underserved markets.”

Kala loans latin america

Kala’s lending dashboard Image Credits: Kala

Kala was officially launched in July 2022 and within the first six months, three customers, two in Colombia and one in Mexico, had used and distributed the product to more than 50,000 customers. Kala charges a SaaS fee and is already generating revenue, Alemán said.

The company, now rich in capital, joins other fintechs – for example Kredito, Mono and Marco Financial – in offering companies opportunities to access credit.

The new financing, which closed in December, brings the company’s total financing to $6 million. It was led by Cometa and included existing investors Canary, Acrew, Clocktower and 99 Startups.

The company currently has 28 employees and will use the capital to expand its product, technology, customer acquisition and customer support teams. Also this year, Kala will continue to focus on Colombia and Mexico.

“It’s a perfect time for Kala, because banks understand how difficult it is to get a credit product going,” Alemán said. “We can do this in weeks, not years, and we aim to become the standard for fintech lending in Latin America.”

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