The main objective of this funding round, according to the Bogotá-based startup, is to help consolidate Plataform’s services primary services offering of bank factoring, private factoring, confirming, and crowd factoring, including a stated goal of helping to finance more than $1 billion USD for companies across Colombia and the wider region.

“With this investment we seek to position ourselves as the number-one alternative financing option for companies,” said Felipe Tascón, CEO of Plataform, when announcing the round. “Having the backing of these two large companies takes us to another level in the market and allows us to reach the entire business fabric, both SMEs and large chains and surfaces.”

Plataform was founded in 2022 by Tascón and Mario Márquez as an alternative financing model.

“The resources obtained in this transaction demonstrate that investors are seeing a great opportunity in companies that develop alternative financing models,” said Márquez, who serves as COO. “The promotion of electronic invoicing, together with the growth of factoring in Colombia, will allow us to accelerate access to financing for the business base, helping the growth and development of the economy.”

The company’s core platform has been in the market for three months and has already helped a range of companies obtain immediate liquidity without affecting their debt capacity. They can draw on their working capital whenever they wish, negotiate high and low denomination invoices, meet obligations such as salaries and leases, and purchase raw materials, among others. 

Overall, Colombia ranks third in Latin America by volume of venture capital investment into the fintech sector, according to the Finnovista Fintech Radar report. The nation’s sector saw some $1.6 billion USD invested in 2021, although this number fell to $1.2 billion in 2022.

Photo (L-R): Santiago García, president Skandia Colombia; Felipe Tascón, co-founder and CEO of Plataform; David Buenfil, CEO of Latam Skandia; and Mario Márquez, co-founder and COO of Plataform. (Credit: Plataform)