First Circle entered the Argentinian credit Fintech market. The Philippines-based firm joins Mercado Libre (NASDAQ:MELI) to assit small businesses with working capital.
First Circle, an Irish-led fintech start-up uses technology to lend to small and medium-sized enterprises, using proprietary software and credit scoring to increase access to financial services, and speed up the process.
First Circle recently raised $1.3 million (€1.22 million) to further develop its technology and data analytics platform. This investment came from Accion Venture Lab and Deep Blue VC.
The company is operating in Argentina through alliances with e-commerce platforms and groups that sell online. It has clearly been a strategic move to grow further in the market. First Circle’s partnerships with e-commerce platforms and its digital services enable the company to acquire and underwrite its small business clients at scale.
With average loans of $10,000 and terms of between 2 to 6 months, First Circle already has more than 30 operations in Argentina. Always with a B2B scheme, the company aims for a $500,000 loan portfolio by 2017.
