Grupago

Grupago is a financial technology company targeting the significant credit gap for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMBs) in Latin America. Founded by Uri Pomerantz and launched in October 2023, the Mexico City-based firm operates with the mission to provide accessible, low-cost capital to entrepreneurs who are largely overlooked by traditional banks and other fintech lenders. Pomerantz, who serves as CEO, brings a wealth of experience from institutions like Stanford, Harvard, Goldman Sachs, and McKinsey & Company, as well as prior entrepreneurial success with the sale of his consumer-fintech startup, Twine.

Grupago's business model is built upon a fully digital platform that combines three core elements to serve its target market effectively. Firstly, it employs AI-driven underwriting, utilizing non-traditional data sources to assess credit risk for small loans and credit cards. This allows the company to systematically increase credit limits as customers build a positive repayment history. Secondly, Grupago has revitalized the concept of group lending, inspired by Nobel prize-winning research. Borrowers can form groups to co-sign for each other's loans, which collateralizes the debt and enables the company to offer larger loan amounts than would be possible individually. This approach is initially focused on women entrepreneurs.

The company's go-to-market strategy involves a unique online-to-offline community distribution model. It engages community leaders online who then establish lending circles in their local, often rural, areas, overcoming the high costs associated with the physical branches of traditional lenders. Grupago generates revenue through the interest and fees on its loan products, which include individual and group loans, as well as a credit card that allows for cash withdrawals. In March 2024, Grupago announced a significant milestone, securing $4.3 million in a seed funding round led by Deciens Capital, with participation from Precursor Ventures, Clocktower Ventures, and Twine Ventures, to fuel its expansion across Latin America. Keywords: microcredit, SMB financing, Latin America fintech, group lending, AI underwriting, financial inclusion, community distribution, small business loans, digital lending, micro-SMBs, credit access, fintech Mexico, Uri Pomerantz, startup financing, emerging markets finance, women entrepreneurs, non-traditional data, rural lending, online-to-offline acquisition, Deciens Capital