Mexico-based financial services and technology company Kapital has raised USD 165 million in a Series B funding round and a debt financing effort. The Series B funding round amounted to USD 40 million and was led by Tribe Capital, along with participation from investors including Cervin Ventures, Tru Arrow, MS&AD Ventures, and Alumni Ventures.

This follows the company's earlier USD 20 million Series A in May, which was complemented by USD 45 million in debt financing. Founded in 2020, Kapital aims to offer small businesses enhanced financial visibility through the utilisation of data and artificial intelligence. The platform enables real-time access and management of business operations and cash flow, while also employing AI for small business loan underwriting.

Highlighting the global disparity in small business credit access, representatives from Kapital cited by TechCrunch emphasised that, although small businesses constitute 90% of the world's businesses, only 10.5% of such enterprises in Mexico have access to total bank credit. Kapital addresses this gap by providing financial visibility to these businesses. As of 2023, Kapital has expanded its customer base to include small businesses across Mexico, Colombia, and Peru.

The acquisition of Banco Autofin Mexico S.A. in September further improved its customer reach. How will Kapital use the new funds? With the newly acquired funds, Kapital plans to focus on research and development, particularly in enhancing its cross-border offerings and expanding its product suite to deliver actionable insights to customers.

Kapital officials specifically mentioned the acceleration of predictive analytics technology to assist business customers in optimising margins by selecting different vendors. They also brought up the company's strategic advantage with its bank status, allowing for the creation of embedded finance options, control over payments, and seamless connectivity to various customer operations. Other developments from Kapital In September 2023, Kapital completed its acquisition of Banco Autofin Mexico (BAM) for USD 50 million a bank focused on retail and SME markets and invested $50 million in the purchase.

Kapital's acquisition of BAM aimed to improve the financial services industry and benefit both small and medium-sized businesses by offering them a variety of financial products including credit cards, automated investment solutions, and innovative artificial intelligence-driven services all in one place. As previously mentioned, Kapital also raised USD 20 million in a Series A funding round earlier in May 2023. The company also secured USD 45 million in a debt facility, a development that occured less than a year after it secured USD 8.6 million in a seed round.

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