Mexican fintech Aviva raises $2.2M to foster financial inclusion

Mexico-based fintech startup Aviva has raised $2.2 million in pre-seed funding to bring working capital to unserved communities.

Founded by former banking executives Filiberto Castro, David Hernandez, Amran Frey and Israel Garcia, the company aims to address the lack of access to financial products for the approximately 40 million Mexicans who are excluded due to banks not targeting this segment.

The company focuses on smaller communities where it can address the lack of trust in banks and predatory interest rates, as well as helping users who may not have the technical ability, such as a smartphone, to purchase financial products directly.

The company launched its product in November with 10 employees and has three kiosk locations in Chalco, Texcoco, and Ixtapaluca – about an hour’s drive from Mexico City, where more than 500 customers have passed through since.

With the new funding, Aviva plans to invest in building out its credit and underwriting system, preparing to launch the company’s own credit card and expanding its kiosks. In the future, Filiberto Castro sees the company providing a full banking offer to its customers, with the credit card giving them a way to deposit loans if customers don’t have a bank account.

The pre-seed funding round was led by Wollef Ventures, and included participation from Newtopia VC, Seedstars International Ventures, 500 Startups, Magna Capital VC, Xtraordinary VP and a group of angel investors.