Brazilian Fintech Cora Manages To Secure $26.7 Million In Funding
Brazilian Fintech Cora Manages To Secure $26.7 Million In Funding. Cora, a São Paulo-based technology-enabled lender to small and-medium-sized businesses, has raised $26.7 million in a Series A round led by Silicon Valley VC firm Ribbit Capital. Kaszek Ventures, QED Investors and Greenoaks Capital also participated in the financing, which brings the startup’s total raised to $36.7 million since its 2019 inception. Kaszek led Cora’s $10 million seed round in December 2019, with Ribbit then following.
Ribbit Capital partner Nikolay Kostov told Tech Crunch that he believes that Cora has embarked on “an ambitious mission” to change how small businesses in Brazil are able to access and experience banking. “While the consumer banking experience has undergone a massive transformation thanks to new digital experiences over the last decade, this is, sadly, still not the case on the small business side.”
“The combination of these factors makes Brazil an especially attractive market for Cora to launch in and disrupt. The Cora founding team is uniquely qualified and deeply attuned to the challenges of small businesses in the country, having spent their entire careers building digital products to serve their needs.” Kostov told Tech Crunch.
“We fully expect that several fintech companies born in the region will become global champions that serve to inspire other entrepreneurs across the globe.” Kostov added. According to Tech Crunch, Cora got its license approved from the Central Bank of Brazil, making it a 403 bank. The fintech then launched its product in October 2020 and has since grown to have about 60,000 customers and 110 employees. Cora offers a variety of solutions, ranging from a digital checking account, Visa debit card and management tools such as an invoice manager and cash flow dashboard. With the checking account, customers have the ability to send and receive money, as well as pay bills, digitally.
Ribbit Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage companies. The firm invests globally in individuals and brands who are aiming to disrupt financial services. The investment firm was founded in 2012 by Meyer Malka and headquartered in Palo Alto, California.
