Friday
February 10
2023

Press Release: IFC and J.P. Morgan Lead $27 Million Investment Round in KLYM to Boost SMEs’ Growth in Latin America

KLYM, a data-driven fintech that focuses on providing working capital to small and midsize companies in Latin America, announced the closing of its Series B investment round for a total of US$27 million. The round was led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), member of the World Bank Group, and J.P. Morgan, alongside other investors. With this round the company has secured US $95M in equity since it was founded in 2017.

KLYM (previously Omnilatam) continues to expand its presence in the global supplier ecosystem. With its new brand and the launch of cross-border financing capabilities, KLYM can now fund suppliers in 32 jurisdictions and 25 different currencies, with a growing financial anchor in Brazil. The company has secured mandates from corporates in Brazil in the agriculture, pharma and biofuel sectors in addition to expanding its presence in Colombia and Chile, where it currently supports 85 corporate clients and 30,000 suppliers (5x YoY growth).  In addition to expansion in South America, KLYM anticipates going live in Mexico.

“In 2022 we launched in Brazil, kicking off with a supplier based in China, and can fund invoices in US Dollars,” said Diego Caicedo, Co-Founder and CEO of KLYM. “This was the first of many wins as we expand our operations in Brazil, positioning KLYM to support duplicata registrada in Brazil once it becomes available, similar to how we support the electronic invoice registries in Colombia and Chile which saw triple digit growth immediately after introduction.  It’s incredible to have both IFC and J.P. Morgan supporting us as we capture this opportunity.”

Elizabeth Martinez Marcano, IFC’s Country Manager for the Andean Region, said “We are excited to add KLYM to IFC’s growing portfolio of trade finance and embedded-finance companies. Players like KLYM are changing the trade financing market architecture, challenging the role of traditional banks and introducing operational efficiencies that are making it easier for SMEs to access financing.”
 
Growth in our current markets has been incredible. We have been able to take advantage of a multi-year investment in our underwriting and data capabilities that allowed us to win the largest bid for a supplier finance program in Chile (and likely the entire continent) in 2022,” stated Andres Abumohor, COO & Co-founder of KLYM.  “Our tech beat all the other banks and fintechs in the region.”

James Fraser, Global Head of Trade & Working Capital, J.P. Morgan Payments said, “A data-driven approach is key to providing best-in-class supply chain finance solutions to our clients in Latin America. Utilizing KLYM’s technology, we are able to provide a dedicated LATAM solution which provides control and flexibility at scale for our clients, in combination with local presence and regional expertise. Our strategic alliance, coupled with this investment, will help bolster J.P. Morgan’s presence in the region.”

Photo courtesy of geralt.

Source: IFC (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Agriculture, Finance, Technology
Tags
data, fintech, impact investing, MSMEs