Finkargo Raises $20 Million in Series A Funding Round

Finkargo, a fintech founded by Colombians Tomás Shuk, Santiago Molina, and Andrés Ferrer, has just raised $20 million in a Series A investment round. The company finances purchases of goods for importing businesses in Colombia and Mexico through its platform.

The capital injection was led by QED Investors, with participation from Nazca and prior investors such as Quona, Flybridge, Maya, and ONEVC.

International Trade Financing

Santiago Molina, co-founder and CEO of Finkargo, sees international trade as a complex field ripe for disruption. “We started with the elephant in the room: international financing,” says Molina. “As we continue to face this giant, we have identified fragmented processes in our clients’ operations that can be solved through integrated systems.”

Finkargo is streamlining the flow of money and data in international trade as the ecosystem works hard to optimize the flow of goods.

Investments and Growth

Since its inception in 2021, the company has gained access to over $27 million from investors and $75 million in debt. The platform generates custom reports analyzing more than 5 million data points in international trade, aiming to standardize information flows among ecosystem participants, from importers and freight agents to suppliers and tech pioneers.

Camila Key Saruhashi, Principal at QED Investors, noted that while the global market for international financing amounts to $5.2 trillion, there is still a financing gap of $1.7 trillion. She added that SMEs in Colombia and Mexico import over $30 billion in volume from Asia each year but face challenges in accessing capital to manage the 60 to 120-day period from purchase to the arrival of goods.

Future Plans

Finkargo plans to use these resources to strengthen the company’s growth in Mexico by expanding its offer beyond international financing towards an integrated suite of commercial services for importers. These services include supplier and product search and verification, cargo insurance, currency management, and international trade intelligence data analysis.

Expressing excitement about joining Finkargo’s vision, Jaime Zunzunegui, managing partner at Nazca, said, “The technology they have developed is driving unprecedented change in the region’s international trade dynamics.”

He added that the way Finkargo is revolutionizing SMEs’ participation continues to open alternatives for access to international trade.

Since its inception, Finkargo has served 250 clients in global trade and facilitated more than 2,000 import operations, valued at $200 million. It also connects importers with a network of more than 550 suppliers in over 40 countries.