Aviva, a Mexican-based fintech startup focused on bringing working capital to unserved communities has raised $2.2 million.
The pre-seed was led by Wollef Ventures, joined by Newtopia VC, Seedstars International Ventures, 500 Startups, Magna Capital VC, Xtraordinary VP and a group of angel investors.
Aviva’s approach uses artificial intelligence and natural language processing to match customers’ spoken words to the fields of a real-time credit application.
Within minutes, customers can qualify for a nano-business or house improvement loan of up to $1,000.
The company makes money from financing the interest on the loans but can charge less than current banks. Average interest rates in Mexico can get as high as triple digits, but Aviva can charge around 80%.
Aviva launched its product in November with 10 employees and has three kiosk locations where more than 500 customers have passed through since.
The kiosks are located in Chalco de Díaz, Ixtapaluca, and Texcoco, towns about an hour’s drive from Mexico City.
CEO Castro said that the company is also seeing a lower percentage of loan delinquencies than initially thought.
With that new capital, Aviva is going to invest in building out its credit and underwriting system, preparing to launch the company’s own credit card, and expanding its kiosks.
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