Priya PatelTLDR:
- Latin American SME trade finance fintech, Marco, has closed a $12 million Series A funding round.
- The funding round was led by IDC Ventures and included participation from IDB Lab, Barn Invest, and others.
Marco, founded in 2020, is focused on providing trade finance solutions for SME exporters in Latin America. The platform offers a comprehensive suite of services including financing, compliance, LLC formation, bookkeeping, FX payouts, cargo insurance, and banking services. Through its innovative approach, Marco is addressing the $350 billion trade financing gap in Latin America.
The funding marks a significant milestone for Marco, strengthening its commitment to ESG efforts within the Latin American region. With the support of IDB Lab, the fintech company aims to launch sustainable initiatives to reach underserved segments of the SME market in Latin America.
Article:
Marco, a trade finance platform catering to SME exporters in Latin America, has secured a $12 million Series A funding round led by IDC Ventures and with participation from IDB Lab, Barn Invest, and others. Founded in 2020 by Jacob Shoihet and Peter D. Spradling, Marco has established itself as a key player in the trade finance sector, with a team of over 50 employees across Miami, New York City, and Montevideo, Uruguay.
The company aims to build the operating system for Latin American SME exporters engaged in cross-border trade, offering fast and easy access to financing, as well as a suite of services designed to address the unique challenges faced by SMEs. Marco’s comprehensive platform includes services like LLC formation, bookkeeping, banking services, and financing tools such as factoring and asset-based lending.
Marco’s innovative approach has allowed it to address the $350 billion trade financing gap in Latin America. By leveraging proprietary risk models that process real-time data, the platform has already funded over $540 million in cumulative volume across more than 63,000 receivables. The company’s services are tailored to SMEs, closing the gap for LatAm exporters often underserved by banks due to perceived risks.
The recent funding round signifies a significant milestone for Marco, reinforcing its commitment to ESG efforts within the Latin American region. With the support of IDB Lab, the company is set to launch new sustainable initiatives to reach underserved segments of the SME market. Marco plays a crucial role in facilitating the shift towards nearshoring, as highlighted by Mexico’s increased exports to the US.
