Mexico-based business lending platform Konfio has increased a series E round featuring internet and telecommunications group SoftBank to $235m at a valuation of $1.3bn, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing a company statement.
Tarsadia Capital and QED Investors co-led a $110m extension to round, with SoftBank and Kaszek also participating. It ostensibly makes Konfio the fourth unicorn to come out of Mexico.
Founded in 2013, Konfio operates an online platform where small and medium-sized businesses, which are typically underserved by conventional banks, can access better lending rates. It will use the funding to pursue acquisition targets and bolster its product offering.
SoftBank also took part in the round’s $125m first tranche in June 2021. It was led by Lightrock and included Vostok Emerging Finance, QED Investors, Kaszek, Tarsadia Capital and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC).
In late 2019, SoftBank’s Latin America-focused Innovation Fund injected $100m of equity funding into the company, following a $25m series C round led by Vostok Emerging Financed in 2018 that included IFC, QED Investors, Kaszek, Quona Capital and Jaguar Ventures.
The series C funding was secured in tandem with $60m in debt financing from Victory Park Capital Advisors and IFC, the latter of which had also led Konfio’s $10m series B round, in 2017. It also featured Quona Capital, Jaguar Ventures, QED Investors and Kaszek.
Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund led the company’s $8m series A round, which included Quona Capital, Jaguar Ventures, QED Investors and Kaszek, in 2016.
