Price comparison platform secures additional capital to grow its operations in Latin America
Mexico City, — 5 FEBRUARY 2015: ComparaGuru.com, Mexico’s leading financial price comparison platform with over half a million users in less than a year of operation, today disclosed that it has secured US$4 million from Spanish fund Seaya Ventures. ComparaGuru.com was originally set up in August 2014 by venture capital Nova Founders as part of a series of financial comparison companies grouped under the Compare Global Group brand.Headquartered in Mexico City, ComparaGuru.com allows users the opportunity to compare and apply to a wide range of financial products in the local market in a matter of seconds: a significant difference to current research methods available to consumers in Mexico.
Born in 2014, the company is developing at a fast pace, expecting to add more verticals to its current assortment of financial services. “We intend to be the most prominent comparison platform in the region, hosting all type of services, from Telco, to banking and insurance” comments Freddy Dominguez, Co-MD and Co-founder of ComparaGuru.com. “We are currently working on creating awareness of the brand and service. Seaya’s investment will sure help us to get there since an important part of the funds will be invested in marketing”.
“The main challenge is getting people in the local market used to online financial comparison services and to our brand. Once this is done, there is a huge untapped potential in the Latin markets for our services”, comments Enrique Horcasitas, also Co-MD and Co-founder of the venture. “We will tackle this opportunity carefully: one of our founding pillars and main differentiator is impartiality. After all, our ultimate commitment is with the user”.
Seaya will provide ComparaGuru.com with financial backing and strategic advise, while Nova Founders Capital will continue to provide the technical platform through its Madrid based IT hub, as well as their operational knowledge and expertise, with key team members having been General Managers of Rocket Internet AG and C-Level Managers at MoneySuperMarket.com, one of the world’s most successful lead generation business in the financial services industry.
“Seaya Ventures has been actively screening this market for investment opportunities and it is very proud to join ComparaGuru together with Nova”, states Michael Kleindl, Founder and Managing Partner of Seaya Ventures, “The opportunity to develop a proven business model with a proven technology platform in an untapped market, such as Mexico, is truly appealing”.
It’s important to note that this is Seaya’s third investment in Latin America, the previous two being online take-out ordering service SinDelantal.Mx and on-demand car service Cabify. In previous cases, Seaya’s investments in the region have all proved to be very successful.
Both ComparaGuru.com and Seaya guarantee that Mexico is just the first of many other markets in the region. Apparently, there is an important opportunity in fintech worldwide. In some cases, financial technologies have been considered by many the largest untouched opportunity in the internet space globally. According to Accenture, last year’s global investment in fintech was of $3 billion, in an industry worth more than a trillion dollars already.
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About ComparaGuru
Headquartered in Mexico City, ComparaGuru.com provides consumers with quick and easy access to online comparison tables for credit cards, personal loans and insurance. The company also offers free access to resourceful guides, frequently asked questions and topical articles exploring new ways to save money in Mexico.
About Seaya Ventures
Seaya is a Spanish venture fund founded in Madrid in 2013. The fund invests in early and growth stage internet and technology-enabled business models. Seaya Ventures seeks to transform early and growth stage companies into category leaders, with focus on innovative businesses that require growth or expansion capital and can build a lasting value.
About Nova Founders Capital
Headquartered in Hong Kong, Nova Founders Capital is a global investment company that identifies opportunities to build innovative internet businesses in high-growth markets. The company builds and invests in sustainable large-scale business models, with a strong focus on innovative financial services. The team behind Nova Founders Capital are some of the most experienced entrepreneurs in the world, and have successfully grown over 30 technology businesses globally.
