“The $70 million USD loan will support an innovative digital business model that is transforming the urban transport sector across the region,” said IDB Invest, the investment financing arm of IDB, in a statement.

If added that “the financing will allow Cabify to reinforce its activity in favor of its smart cities agenda, reducing mobility costs, and improving the lives of citizens.”

In addition to aligning with the global development bank’s wider goals of promoting mobility and digital innovation in the region, IDB says Cabify, which operates in 11 countries, will use part of the funds to institute a plan that will improve employment conditions for drivers in a way that can “increase their financial inclusion and help in obtaining social benefits.”

The financing is being supplied in part by third party funds including Blue like an Orange Sustainable Capital.

“This project reinforces the common goal of achieving more sustainable cities,” stated IDB Invest. “The financing is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda, which Cabify has incorporated into its business objectives by adhering to the United Nations Global Compact.”

Though founded in Madrid with some expectations of becoming a European version of Uber, Cabify has found its biggest markets in Latin America. It has branched out from its start in Mexico and Chile, entering Colombia in 2015 and now having a footprint in most of the region’s largest countries.

The company, through its parent Maxi Mobility, raised an additional $160 million USD in series E funding last year during a restructuring period that followed Cabify’s move to switch out its CEO.

There has also been ongoing collaboration between Cabify and Easy Taxi, another regional leader in the market. Maxi Mobility controls the Brazilian operations of Easy Taxi and has partnered on that ride-hailing company’s digital platform, recently branding the mobile application as “Easy, a Cabify app.”

This alignment follows the earlier merger of the Brazil-founded Easy Taxi and Colombian rival Tappsi, which joined forces in 2015 but only rebranded as a unified app under the Easy banner toward the end of 2018.

(Photo credit: bobtheskater / Pixabay)