May 29, 2023, Repost from TechCrunch and Forbes - LATAM Fintech company Kapital grabbed a fresh round of capital, $20 million in Series A and $45 million in a debt facility, less than a year after securing a $8.6 million seed round.
The company, founded by Rene Saul and Fernando Sandoval in 2020, got started after the pair sold their previous business and wanted to build a platform that could provide a way for small and medium-sized businesses across Latin America to have all of their financial needs, including cash flow, credit and investments, all in one place.
“You need to organize the business first, and then it’s going to grow,” Saul said in an interview. “That’s what we’re doing. We aren’t just giving you a corporate card or telling you to open your own bank account — we give you the complete solution.”
Saul added that he and Sandoval saw companies not having visibility of their finances: Many didn’t even know who they owed money to or who they needed to collect money from.
With Kapital, customers have an enterprise reporting platform of sorts where they can get a credit card, pay bills in advance, view cash flow and manage business spending. In addition, the company developed an algorithm that helps customers calculate future revenue, and if needed, will help with a future loan “at the precise moment when you need it,” Saul said.
Kapital was part of Y Combinator’s Winter 2022 cohort, and in the past year expanded into Colombia and launched Kapital Flex, a way to defer payments to suppliers and business invoices.
The company is now working with over 11,000 businesses, and while Saul declined to discuss the revenue growth figures, he did say that he expected Kapital to be profitable by this summer.
It also launched full automation of its platform two months ago, so for example, when a customer executes on a contract, Kapital’s platform automatically sends out an invoice. Additionally, there are plans for further AI-driven products, Saul said.
That’s where the new capital comes in. Niya Partners and Tribe Capital co-led the Series A, which closed a month ago, and were joined by a group of investors that included Dropbox co-founder Arash Ferdowsi, Marbruck, Broom Ventures, FoundersX, Cresset/True Capital Management, Pioneer Fund, Kube VC and MyAsia VC. Accial provided the debt facility. In total, Kapital raised over $30 million in equity and $145 million in debt.
“We’ve underwritten over 100 fintech companies and nearly none of them have been able to monetize,” said Arjun Sethi, CEO of Tribe Capital, via email. “Kapital flipped the model on its head: utilize fintech as an acquisition channel. Not only that, their fintech products make money. Their path won’t be easy but they have a great shot at reimagining SMB banking in Latin America.”
Plans for the capital include product development and additional expansion in Colombia.
“The whole idea is how you give a company the most important SaaS where you control the money,” Sandoval said in an interview. “And, also how can you make it powerful because right now, legacy players control the money. We can provide all this data to understand the business and help customers make decisions.”
Kapital Launches the 1st Colombia business card in USDC
Kapital launches the 1st Colombia business credit card in dollars. This product will provides the companies in Colombia with the protection against the devaluation of the Colombian peso, which has been devaluating at a rate of 20.82%. The currency devaluation has affected the purchasing power of foreign goods and services, especially to importers, since raising the production or manufacturing costs of their products considerably affects the cost of living.
The increase in inflation in the country has directly impacted the entire population, the production sector and, ultimately, all kinds of economic or business operations. In this scenario, and as part of its purpose of promoting and helping this ecosystem grow, Kapital, the digital platform that provides financial services and smart solutions to SMEs and entrepreneurs in the country, launches the first business card in digital dollars USDC, which will be of great help to Colombian businesses, not only because this is the most stable currency, but also because of the multiple advantages both locally and internationally.
The arrival of this innovative and unique product in the country's financial solutions market, will provide entrepreneurs with multiple benefits, among them they will be able to make international transfers to any part of the world, secure and access their money in dollars from wherever they are, as well as having the benefits that Mastercard World Elite offers them worldwide; all this added to the exclusive access to the Kapital platform, where businessmen, entrepreneurs and owners of SMEs will be able to manage their debit accounts and cards, in addition to paying suppliers and receiving payments from abroad.
Another key point that Kapital talks about is the cybersecurity of the resources, especially since it is an account in digital dollars. On this subject, they have made it clear that the money of the businessmen who are part of Kapital with this new business card will be insured by blockchain technology, which is unbreakable, and has encrypted security that will keep their accounts protected by the highest security standards. world security.
“We are aware of the currency situation in Colombia, therefore our commitment remains firm, equipping companies to grow, without a doubt this will always be our mission every day. For this reason, our purpose is to help companies shield and protect their money against volatility and devaluation, which is why it makes sense that we bet so strongly on giving them a Kapital account in USDC digital dollars, which brings together the best of our ecosystem the security and benefits of a digital currency, but backed by the dollar, that makes it a winning product and full of innovation”, says Miguel Farro, Head of Product at Kapital. To be among the first to access this product, get on the waiting list at Kapital: https://solucionempresarial.kapital.cc/usdc
See more at Kapital