Clara, a Mexican corporate spend-management startup, announced on Wednesday that it has received an additional $5 million funding backed by angel investors and unicorn leaders. This is an extension to its most recent Series A round, when Clara raised $30 million.
Founded in April 2020 by Gerry Giacomán and Diego García, Clara is an end-to-end spend management solution for companies. In addition to corporate credit cards in physical and virtual formats with no annual fee and customizable limits and restrictions, the company has a platform for controlling expenses.
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The fintech launched operations in Mexico back in March. “We want to be the best partner so that businesses can do better management of all their corporate spend. Managing your resources is one of the most important things that any business can do. We saw at Grow Mobility [a Latin American micromobility firm], in which our co-founder Diego and I worked, how not having a solution like Clara could really affect a company’s performance,” recalls Giacomán in a recent interview with LABS.
With the expressive growth after a recent debut in Mexico, Clara now has its eyes set on Brazil, where the company expects to launch during the third quarter of the year, backed by the new resources.
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The Series A and its extension will also help the fintech speed up product development with investments in technology, product, and support, besides moving on with its expansion roadmap in the region. According to Giacomán, while the company plans to focus efforts on Brazil for the year, it has also spotted interest from companies in Colombia and Chile. Clara is also about to sign a contract for a $50 million credit line with an undisclosed partner.
Giacomán said this additional funding, which came from some of the most outstanding founders and angel investors in Latin America, is significant. “It’s exciting to be trusted by leaders who have built a reputation in the region, for which we reinforce our commitment with the Latam companies to deliver the best B2B financial solution,” he said.
Amongst the investors are Sergio Furio from Creditas, Sebastián Mejía from Rappi, Daniel Vogel from Bitso, Brynne McNulty Rojas from Habi, Sebastián Castro from Kushki, Manolo Atala from Fairplay, Rodrigo Sánchez Ríos from La Haus, Deepak Chhugani from NuvoCargo, Sebastián Kreis from Xepelin, Sebastián Villarreal from Súper, Ricardo Weder from Jüsto, and Ariel Lambrecht from 99.
Clara’s Series A was led by General Catalyst and DST Global Partners.
