Clara Secures Debt Financing for up to 90 million dollars from Accial Capital to strengthen their presence in Colombia
- The company secures this credit line before completing their first year of operations in Colombia.
- Clara now delivers its financial solution to customers in 27 states in Colombia, which represents 85% of the national territory.
- Clara also recently opened its second Colombian office, now in Medellin
Bogota, Colombia – March 13, 2023. Clara, the leading end-to-end digital corporate spend management platform in Latin America, announced today an approved financing for up to 90 million dollars from Accial Capital, a US debt provider with a focus on emerging markets, and its newly launched fund in collaboration with Skandia FCP IMPACTO, an impact-focused debt fund offered by Skandia, managed by Accial. Clara secures this line of credit before completing their first year of operations in Colombia and close to celebrating their third anniversary as a company.
“This funding will allow us to keep consolidating our products so that they can continue to respond to the financial and technological needs of companies in Colombia and Latin America. Additionally, our new offices in Medellin will be key to attracting the best local talent and building up our team. Our main goal is to meet the real needs of Colombian companies and to keep establishing the country as a technological hub in the region”, commented Leonardo Ramos, Regional Director of Clara in Colombia.
Clara Colombia has more than 1,300 clients, distributed mainly among the technological and financial services, ecommerce, retail, and tourism sectors. It began operations with an office in Bogota and it recently announced the opening of its office in Medellin to strengthen its presence in the Antioquia market and be part of the tech ecosystem shaping the city.
“At Accial, we are excited to contribute to Clara’s growth. Their market-leading solution has set the foundations to help more companies in Latin America manage their spend in a simple, quick and transparent way, and reliably access short term credit” said Jared Miller, CEO of Accial Capital.
“For Skandia it’s a great pleasure to witness the first outcomes from IMPACTO, an investment vehicle based on ESG metrics, that we developed in alliance with Accial Capital with the aim to generate well-being and promote financial inclusion. All of this while supporting the fintech ecosystem companies growth, as Clara, whose business model positively and directly IMPACTS SMEs in Latin America”, stated Santiago Garcia, Skandia Colombia CEO.
This is the second occasion in less than a year that Clara has secured a debt facility. In August 2022, Goldman Sachs approved financing for up to 150 million dollars that allowed them to strengthen their operations mainly in Mexico and continue consolidating as one of the fastest growing and most popular expense management platforms in Latin America. “This new line of credit is a vote of confidence in Clara’s business model from international investment funds and recognizes our impact and progress in empowering Colombian businesses”, indicated Gerry Giacomán Colyer, CEO and Co-founder of Clara.
Clarissa Morrison, Clara Capital Markets Director leading this transaction, mentioned “This deal represents a major milestone for Clara, as it allows us to continue evolving into an asset-light company with a solid funding structure. It becomes a fundamental pillar to achieve our growth plans while offering best in class solutions for our customers.”
Clara is backed by leading regional and global investors such as Coatue, DST Global Partners, monashees, Kaszek, A*, ICONIQ Growth, Box Group, Global Founders Capital, Canary Ventures, Picus Capital, Avid Ventures, SV Angel, as well as dozens of angel investors including Julio Rojas, Brynne McNulty, and Rappi founders Sebastián Mejía and Juan Pablo Ortega.
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