Kapital gets more of its own capital to help LatAm businesses monitor cash flow

Mexican fintech company Kapital grabbed a fresh round of capital, $20 million in Series A and $45 million in a debt facility, less than a year after securing a $8.6 million seed round.

The company, founded by Rene Saul and Fernando Sandoval in 2020, got started after the pair sold their previous business and wanted to build a platform that could provide a way for small and medium-sized businesses across Latin America to have all of their financial needs, including cash flow, credit and investments, all in one place.

“You need to organize the business first, and then it’s going to grow,” Saul said in an interview. “That’s what we’re doing. We aren’t just giving you a corporate card or telling you to open your own bank account — we give you the complete solution.”

Saul added that he and Sandoval saw companies not having visibility of their finances: Many didn’t even know who they owed money to or who they needed to collect money from.

With Kapital, customers have an enterprise reporting platform of sorts where they can get a credit card, pay bills in advance, view cash flow and manage business spending. In addition, the company developed an algorithm that helps customers calculate future revenue, and if needed, will help with a future loan “at the precise moment when you need it,” Saul said.

Kapital was part of Y Combinator’s Winter 2022 cohort, and in the past year expanded into Colombia and launched Kapital Flex, a way to defer payments to suppliers and business invoices.

The company is now working with over 11,000 businesses, and while Saul declined to discuss the revenue growth figures, he did say that he expected Kapital to be profitable by this summer.

It also launched full automation of its platform two months ago, so for example, when a customer executes on a contract, Kapital’s platform automatically sends out an invoice. Additionally, there are plans for further AI-driven products, Saul said.

That’s where the new capital comes in. Niya Partners and Tribe Capital co-led the Series A, which closed a month ago, and were joined by a group of investors that included Dropbox co-founder Arash Ferdowsi, Marbruck, Broom Ventures, FoundersX, Cresset/True Capital Management, Pioneer Fund, Kube VC and MyAsia VC. Accial provided the debt facility. In total, Kapital raised over $30 million in equity and $145 million in debt.

“We’ve underwritten over 100 fintech companies and nearly none of them have been able to monetize,” said Arjun Sethi, CEO of Tribe Capital, via email. “Kapital flipped the model on its head: utilize fintech as an acquisition channel. Not only that, their fintech products make money. Their path won’t be easy but they have a great shot at reimagining SMB banking in Latin America.”

Plans for the capital include product development and additional expansion in Colombia.

“The whole idea is how you give a company the most important SaaS where you control the money,” Sandoval said in an interview. “And, also how can you make it powerful because right now, legacy players control the money. We can provide all this data to understand the business and help customers make decisions.”