Since 2017, the number of fintech startups in Latin America and the Caribbean focused on financial inclusion has more than tripled to more than 3,000, according to a study by the Inter-American Development Bank and Finnovista.
Mexico City-headquartered Stori launched in 2018 to bridge the financial inclusion gap for Latin America’s 100 million unbanked and underbanked population. More than 3 million active users, mostly in Mexico, use Stori’s credit cards and high-yield savings accounts. The no-fee credit card has a 99% approval rating because it doesn’t require a credit history; more than half of Mexico’s adults don’t have one.
Stori plans to invest 7 billion pesos (about $360 million) in Mexico over the next two years under its plan to attract more clients and drive greater financial inclusion.
Fintech unicorn
The new round includes $105 million in equity from Notable Capital, GIC, General Catalyst, Goodwater, Lightspeed and other investors. Goldman Sachs and Davidson Kempner Capital Management backed the $107 million debt portion. With unicorn status, Stori aims to expand access to formal lending.
“From the beginning, we recognized an unfair gap in Mexico’s traditional financial system, which has historically served only certain sectors of the population,” said Stori’s Marlene Garayzar.
Early-stage players
With 773 companies and growing, Mexico has become a leading fintech market in Latin America. Crediko, which offers low-interest student loans for primary and secondary school students, snagged $2.5 million in a seed round backed by Grupo Graven and other investors. The startup offers an “all-inclusive” loan package that covers tuition, books and other school materials.
Aviva secured $5.5 million of seed financing for its network of AI-powered video kiosks that approves credit in real time for underbanked borrowers in small Mexican cities.
