Los Angeles-based Crediverso closed a $3.1 million seed round to help launch its platform later this summer that hopes to connect the growing Hispanic community with the financial offerings it needs.
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The round was led by a group of investors including Bessemer Venture Partners, Act One Ventures, Point 72 Ventures and Clocktower Ventures.
The company is looking to serve one of the largest emerging markets in the world — the growing Hispanic community in the U.S. Despite more than 62 million Hispanic consumers in the U.S., banks and other financial service institutions have had a hard time breaking into the market due to language barriers and not fully understanding the needs there, said founder and CEO Carlos Hernandez.
The Crediverso platform attempts to change that by offering products and services from financial partners that cater to the Hispanic community — including remittance and loan options. The platform, which will be available in both English and Spanish, addresses a need Hernandez knows well from growing up around Southern California.
“This is a space I know intimately,” he said. “I saw this firsthand.”
Open market
Hernandez expects the platform to launch later this summer and already has signed up about a dozen financial service companies to offer their products on the site, including US Bank, Western Union and Remitly.
The platform will be free to users, as it monetizes through commission-based and revenue-sharing agreements with providers on the site, Hernandez said. He compares the site to Credit Karma or Chime, but for the Hispanic community, which has had trouble accessing many financial products in the market.
The company, founded last year, will use the money to grow and expand the platform, as well as for sales and marketing, Hernandez said. The company currently only has four full-time employees, but about 30 total workers counting contractors and the like, he said. The company has its engineering team in Mexico, he added.
Crediverso originally was only looking for about $1.5 million in a seed round, but Hernandez said investor reception was and continues to be great to the product. He said while many point to Latin America or parts of Asia as “emerging markets,” the Hispainic community in the U.S. is expected to grow to 94 million by 2030.
“We have one of the largest emerging markets here in the U.S.,” he said.
Alejandro Guerrero, general partner at Act One Ventures, said he also saw firsthand how the U.S. credit system was unavailable to many — including his parents.
“Those life experiences impacted me deeply and are part of what made me instantly recognize that Carlos and Crediverso are different and special,” he said.
“When I met Carlos it was clear that his understanding of this market is unmatched, and that his vision to create a Spanish-language workflow platform with highly curated information and content — along with a much bigger vision as Crediverso scales — was the key to building trust with this community and unlocking a lost market opportunity worth over $1 trillion,” he added.
Illustration: Li-Anne Dias.
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