Clara

Banca Afirme and Clara partner to offer credit opportunities to small businesses in LatAm

Banca Afirme, part of the Mexican conglomerate Afirme Grupo Financiero, has announced a strategic alliance with the Latin American corporate expense management unicorn Clara to offer greater credit opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises in the region.

As stated by both companies, this new alliance guarantees the investment of $55 million throughout 2023 for close to 200 businesses in LatAm.

“Due to its great growth and potential, this alliance is established, where Clara, with the knowledge of its portfolio, opens the door to contact potential customers for our institution,” said Jorge Eduardo Vázquez García, director of Alliances of Afirme Grupo Financiero, in a statement.

Offering extended credit to small entrepreneurs in LatAm

On the other hand, José Carlos Martínez González, director of Small and Medium-Sized Banking at Afirme, explained that through this alliance, Afirme makes credit lines of up to 15 million pesos (or $825.8 thousand) available to Clara’s clients, with terms of up to five years.

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This will complement the credit cards and expenses management that Clara offers its clients today, estimating that it will support more than 200 companies this year.

“This business model allows access to a greater number of potential clients in less time, taking advantage of Clara’s technology, which will make it easier for them to achieve the institution’s objectives,” added the director of Banca Pyme.

Expanding corporate partnerships throughout the region

Amando Villalobos, Head of Partnerships at Clara
Amando Villalobos, Head of Partnerships at Clara.

On the other hand, Amando Villalobos, Head of Partnerships at Clara, said in a statement that “we are very excited about forming this type of synergies, especially with an institution like Afirme, because it allows us to expand the financing offer to our customers to meet their business needs.”

“At Clara,” states Villalobos, “we reinforce our commitment to continue offering not only the best corporate spending solution for companies in Latin America but also the best financing alternatives from the best partners in Mexico and the region.”

Banca Afirme has a strong presence in 26 Mexican states and an extensive ATM network in the country.

The announcement of this alliance comes after Clara received in March of this year financing of close to $90 million to strengthen its products in the countries where it has a presence, including Mexico, where it began operations two years ago, and Brazil and Colombia.

  • Jorge C. Carrasco

    Jorge C. Carrasco is a Contributing Reporter at Fintech Nexus. He reports on fintech, economy, banking, startups, and technology, covering the most impactful stories from a Latin American perspective.

    He has contributed to several international publications, such as Foreign Policy, The Spectator Australia, Estadão, Época, Washington Examiner, and Quillette. Originally from Havana, Cuba, he is now based in Brazil.