Mouro Capital, the US$400 million successor fund of fintech-specialist Santander InnoVentures, has participated in a round of funding for Klar, the 100% digital, transparent, free and secure alternative to traditional debit and credit services in Mexico.

Klar, a leading challenger bank in Mexico, closed on US$15 million in Series A funding led by Prosus Ventures (formerly Naspers Ventures) with participation from new investor International Finance Corporation and former investors Quona capital who led Klar´s SEED round, Mouro Capital and aCrew. The round brings the total debt and equity funds raised to approximately $73 million since the company was founded in 2019.

“We’ve built a new banking infrastructure core that aligns with the financial needs of consumers and allows us to service a massive segment of the population in Mexico that has previously been left behind when it comes to financial services.” said Stefan Moller, Klar’s co-founder and CEO. Klar’s significantly lower cost of technology is what allows it to offer premium products to segments under- or un-served.

This is a follow-on investment by Mouro Capital, the US$400 million assets under management fund targeting early to growth fintech investment opportunities across Europe, North America and Latin America. In September, Banco Santander announced the launch of Mouro Capital, alongside the doubling of its allocated funds from US$200 to US$400 million.

Manuel Silva Martínez, General Partner, Mouro Capital, said: “We are thrilled to continue supporting the Klar team in their growth journey. We first invested in Klar on the grounds of the amazing talent they have gathered around the table and the market need for what they were trying to build. Since our initial investment, the team has over delivered on nearly every front. We are big believers in credit-first new banking propositions, and Klar is a good example of doing things the right way.”

Klar’s business has experienced rapid growth having issued over 25,000 credit lines amongst its 200,000 customers in less than 12 months since inception. Moreover, the business has shown significant resiliency to the Covid-19 crisis, as growth has tripled during the pandemic.

The new funds will be put to use to grow Klar’s engineering capabilities in both its Berlin and Mexico hubs in order to expand the company’s product suite to help users manage their liquidity with simple, transparent and affordable credit products.

“Prosus Ventures partners with entrepreneurs that are solving big societal problems with technology, in a uniquely local way. We invest in sectors of the economy where technology can lead to meaningful change in the lives of consumers. Klar has identified a need in the Mexican financial market and brings a unique solution through their credit and debit offering,” said Banafsheh Fathieh from Prosus Ventures. “In less than a year, the team has shown an ability to build a world-class digital bank for the masses, one focused on financial access and inclusion. We are very excited to partner with them on that mission.”

Alongside Prosus Ventures, IFC joined the round. According to Leila Search, of IFC’s FinTech Investments Group, “Since more than half of Mexicans don’t have a basic bank account, financial access is going to be the main battle for Mexico over the coming years. We know Klar will be an inspiring contributor to it.”

“Klar is making credit accessible to all Mexicans, including those with no credit history,” explains Daniel Autrique, Klar’s co-founder and CFO. “We help people build credit by looking at how and where they spend their money.”

About Klar

Klar has been working to democratize financial services in Mexico since 2019 by offering a 100% digital, transparent, free and secure alternative to traditional credit and debit services. For more information visit: https://www.klar.mx

Mouro Capital

Mouro Capital is a venture capital firm backing entrepreneurs who are shaping the future of financial services. With $400 million in assets under management and supported by Banco Santander, Mouro invests across the fintech value chain in early to growth stage start-ups across Europe, North America and Latin America. Mouro has invested in over 30 companies such as iZettle (acquired by PayPal), Kabbage (acquired by American Express), Creditas, Curve, Ripple, Tradeshift, Trulioo and Upgrade. For more information, visit: https://www.mourocapital.com

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