The financial technology company (fintech) clear secured a line of credit for up to 90 million dollars, at a time when many startups —especially in the United States— have been left without liquidity due to the bankruptcy of the Silicon Valley Bank (SBV).
Clara, which is dedicated to the administration of corporate credit cards through a digital platform, will allocate the resources of this line of credit granted by the US fund Accial Capital to the consolidation of its operation in Colombia, a country where it arrived exactly one year ago.
Gerry Giacomán, founder and executive director of Clara, said that, to consolidate Clara’s expansion in Colombia, the company will take advantage of the resources from this debt raising to offer liquidity to its clients, which will allow it to direct the resources it has raised in venture capital to the team that makes up the company and its technological development.
“It is about making a good mix between capitalization with Venture Capital, which is what we allocate to our team and our product, and at the same time, having resources for the growth of our clients’ portfolio,” said Giacomán.
Founded in 2020, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Clara has raised more than $100 million in Venture Capital and has a first line of credit for up to $150 million with Goldman Sachs.
Clara is one of the companies that quickly reached the unicorn category in Mexico, barely a year after it was founded. Since then, the startup has expanded first to Brazil and then to Colombia.
According to Giacomán, in order to overcome the decrease in access to capital that will start in 2022, a year that outlines a 40% drop in venture capital (Venture Capital), Clara decided to focus on the markets in which it operates before reaching other markets.
The entrepreneur does not rule out that in the future, the company will open operations in Latin American countries, such as Chile, and even advanced his intention to seek an outlet on the stock market.
Financing through debt, such as the one that Clara has just raised, showed a growth of 94% in 2022, compared to 2021, to reach 3,000 million dollars in the Latin American region, according to the Growth Equity Ecosystem report. and Venture Capital 2022, carried out by Endeavor.
