Marco raised $200M in a recent financing round to finance LatAm startups

Marco, a US-based provider of a tech-enabled trade financing platform, has announced the raise of $8.2 million in equity funding led by Arcadia Funds and received a $200 million credit facility from Castlelake and MidCap Financial to grow its LatAm-focused SME financing platform.

Fewer than 10% of SMEs in Latin America have access to financing, barring most companies' growth in the region. Legacy lenders also have a hard time assessing a business’ risk, leading to a $2 trillion gap in financing for SMEs.

This is why Marco set itself apart by providing tech-enabled financing to small and medium-sized exporters across Latin America to scale their businesses. The fintech makes financing decisions available to exporters in the region through its risk solutions platform within days instead of weeks, enabling business owners to take timely business interventions.

The company says its goal is to enable Latin American SMEs to sell their goods globally by providing them with the necessary support.

Since launching in 2020, Marco has financed $275 million across 25,000 invoices with no losses, achieving a compound annual growth rate of over 1,500% between 2021 and 2022. In 2022, the company lent $100 million to businesses in Latin America. Marco plans to fund $750 million by the end of 2023 across the US, Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru.

The company reports that it will use the funding to expand its client base and portfolio, while also bolstering its trade finance platform and a suite of trade services.