In just one year, Fintech companies in Latin America are growing by 66%

Information from the second edition of the Fintech report in Latin America 2018, developed by the IDB and Finnovista can not be more positive: 1166 Fintech startups have been identified in the region, representing a growth of 66% since the first measurement in 2017, year in which 703 companies were identified.

Two out of three companies are already at an advanced stage of development, and the Fintech business has grown from 15 to 18 countries in the last year. Brazil is the country with the largest number of enterprises (380), followed by Mexico (273), Colombia (148), Argentina (116) and Chile (84) (Chile talks about 90, although the search dates are different and the months make the difference

Whatever the case, Chile is the country of South America that counts the most high concentration of Fintech companies in terms of population density, reaching more than 4.17 companies per 1 million inhabitants, 78 submitted by Mexico and 2.5 by Colombia and Argentina, according to the information provided by FinteChile, an badociation that represents and strengthens the fintech industry in Chile.

"This is the emerging part of the iceberg that promises to continue to s & rsquo; accelerate years, reflecting not only the increase in the number of players in the Fintech ecosystem since its inception, but also the financial institutions that interact with them, but also as local venture capitalists, "says Juan Miguel Tirado, Gosocket Regional Marketing Director, a company actively involved in the Fintech system through factoring. electronic.

In fact, the financing of invoices represents 10.4% of the number of solutions present, the majority of which are solutions of loan and crowdfunding:

Other areas of this growth and segments [19659003] This explosion of Fintech solutions has other manifestations: one in three companies states that they have developed their operations across national borders.

"While five countries account for 86% of the fintech companies in the region, companies have been identified in each of the Latin American countries – a growing trend towards internationalization, which shows the opportunities perceived by entrepreneurs, but also the importance of continuing ortaleciendo dialogue and harmonization at the regional level "says Juan Ketterer, head of the IDB's Connectivity, Market and Finance Division.

The activity sector remains the payments and remittances sector, accounting for 24% of the identified loans (285 in total), followed by the loans segment (18%) and the management of corporate finance. (15%). It also highlights the rapid growth of digital banking segments and, mainly, credit rating, identity and fraud.

Remittances and payments have a strong presence due to the penetration of smart mobile devices in the population, and the high rate of exclusion of the population from the circuit of formal financial services due to the The absence of an account had an impact on its growth.

With regard to loans, the number of enterprises has increased because of the costs, bureaucratic obstacles and high interest rates of traditional financial institutions. Meanwhile, the management of corporate finance has been fostered by new opportunities for small and medium businesses accounting for 90% of Latin America and the Caribbean.