Narayan AmmachchiThe latest funding round of Mexican fintech Stori pushed its valuation above US$1 billion, giving it official unicorn status and making it the newest member of an exclusive yet growing club in Latin America.
Mexico City-based Stori raised US$150 million from half-a-dozen investors, including BAI Capital, GIC, Lightspeed Venture Partners, General Catalyst and Vision Plus Capital.
The fintech firm said it will use the proceeds to expand operations throughout Latin America and offer more financial products in addition to credit cards.
Today, our Stori is brighter and our commitment to bring financial inclusion to all of Mexico and Latin America stronger. We are the New Mexican Unicorn! 🦄#MexicanUnicorn pic.twitter.com/gA9Ltd3TQ7
— Stori (@Stori_MX) July 15, 2022
Founded in 2018, Stori had fewer than 70 professionals in early 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic began to wreak havoc across the world.
The pandemic stoked an unprecedented demand for digital payment services, creating so much demand that Stori’s revenue jumped by 20 times and headcount (including supporting staff) by 600 times in 2021.
There are around 100 million people in Latin America who have little or no access to formal banking, said the startup, adding that it “will provide them with banking.”
Getting credit is a challenge for a large majority of Mexicans. Even those who obtain it tend to use department store or convenience store cards. Stori provides a credit card whether the applicant has credit history or not, with loans that range from 1,000 Mexican pesos (about US$50) to 10,000 Mexican pesos (US$500).
At the center of Stori’s success is its mobile app, which processes all the documents it needs to issue a credit card, freeing consumers from the hassle of paperwork.
Other unicorns in Mexico include Kavak, Bitso, Clip, Merama, Incode, Konfío Clara and Nowports.
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