DOMO Invest led a R$6m investment in IOUU, a lending marketplace for Brazilian small businesses, with participation from Indicator Capital and Devas Invest.
(Contxto) IOU. An acronym nobody likes to see, and yet it’s commonplace when dealing with loans. And fintech IOUU from Brazil has put a twist on this trope for its peer to peer (P2P) marketplace solution and it appears it’s yielding promising results.
As a trio of venture capital (VC) firms have shown faith in its model following an investment for R$6 million (about US$1.3 million). DOMO Invest led the round, while Indicator Capital and Devas Invest followed suit. The announcement was disclosed on Monday.
The fintech has various applications in mind when it comes to this equity raising. For one, it will improve its technology. Specifically, its risk analysis assessment. Plus, funds will also be used for marketing and sales purposes. Not to mention bring more companies onto its loaning platform.
The fintech had previously raised R$2 million.
P2P loaning marketplace
Unlike other loaning startups that directly lend money to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or startups, IOUU is a marketplace.
On the fintech’s platform, people can give these sprouting businesses micro-loans and for their contribution, they charge borrowers interest. Tickets start at R$500 (US$115), according to the startup’s website.
As with any investment, for anyone that provides funds on the platform, there is no guarantee their money will be recovered. Nonetheless, the startup helps on that end via credit risk analysis and verifying a borrower’s documentation.
You know, the fun due diligence process nobody likes but is oh-so-crucial.
Meanwhile, IOUU charges a rate over the value of the credit operation.
Bruno Sayão and Ricardo Gobbo came up with the idea for IOUU in 2016 and took their model into the Brazilian accelerator program, Artemisia in 2017.
After preparing, the fintech launched its operations in 2018. It currently manages R$15 million (US$3.4 million) in loans with 11,000 investors.
But don’t hold your breath if you’re looking to become rich overnight via lending on IOUU, as monthly profitability ranges from 1.3 to 3.9 percent.
-ML