Plurall, a new Colombian FinTech focused on improving the financial inclusion of Solopreneurs in LatAm, closed an iconic pre-seed round raising $1.5m equity and $10m debt, marking a milestone for entrepreneurship in the region. Backed by prominent strategic investors in the United Kingdom, United States, Mexico, Spain and Colombia, Plurall prepares to launch its microbusiness-oriented services in April 2022.
An undisclosed London-based debt and equity fund with over USD$3bn AUM and a portfolio of over 90 investments worldwide, will provide a $10 million debt facility, showing confidence in the market opportunity that Plurall is addressing. “This is perhaps the first time in LatAm FinTech, and one of the first times around the world, that a startup is able to raise international institutional debt for originating their first loans. The typical path is to use expensive equity for the first year or two before being able to access an institutional debt facility”, says Glenn Goldman, Co-founder and CSO of Plurall, who has a track record of having originated over USD$4bn of SME loans in the United States, Brazil, and Mexico.
According to Federico Gómez, Co-founder and CEO of Plurall, “out of almost 10 million microbusinesses in Colombia, only 1.6 million have some degree of financial inclusion. There's a total USD$45bn lending opportunity and USD$100bn payments opportunity in which incumbents are only serving 6%. In our first stage, we will provide working capital loans, together with a digital account, to provide these Solopreneurs the attention they deserve as the heart and soul of the Colombian economy. As fast-followers, we will incorporate a credit card and B2B Buy Now, Pay Later feature to build an ecosystem that really fits their financial needs”.
The strength of the founding team, formed by Glenn Goldman (ex-Credibly, CAN Capital, and advisor to FinTechs across LatAm), Federico Gómez (ex-PagaTodo & YaGanaste México), Monica Saavedra (ex Movii), Natalia García (ex Movii) and Gustavo González (ex Referencia), brings to Plurall a unique track record and set of capabilities, having collectively acquired over 2mm account holders in Colombia, expanded across 6 countries in LatAm, and lent over $4B to SMEs and entrepreneurs in the US and Latin America.
Also, Visa has teamed up with Plurall, to help drive digital and financial inclusion to SMEs in the country through digital payment solutions.
“We are glad to announce our partnership with Plurall which responds to our purpose to work more closely with FinTech in Colombia and to connect more people and businesses through innovative, fast and secure digital payment solutions”, says Adriana Cárdenas, Country Manager for Visa Colombia. “We will work to present different benefits, specially developed to solve different micro businesses needs and help more SMEs have access to digital financial solutions”
Plurall prides itself on having active advisors in a number of relevant fields including Joel Sherwin, former GM of Dave, Michael Gomez, former Head of Emerging Markets Portfolio at PIMCO and former advisor to the Ministry of Finance in Colombia, Omar Canales, former COO at Cacao Paycard and Matias Garrido, CEO of Multiplica.