FinTech Collective Invests in Oyster
We are very excited to announce that we have participated in the $14 million Seed round in Mexican startup, Oyster. The round was led by Monashees and SV Latam Capital. Additional investors included FJ Labs, Redpoint eventures, S7 Ventures, and Ulu Ventures.
Oyster is building a holistic digital financial institution for SMEs in Latin America, starting with Mexico. Opening a business bank account in Latin America can take weeks or months for SMEs. Once an account is opened, these companies face limited access to loans and credit cards.
Oyster thus seeks to address the banking and credit needs of these customers, leveraging a modern technology stack to serve them profitably and reduce issues stemming from high onboarding friction and lack of transparency. Its vision is to continue creating and rolling out new financial services and products for SMEs that increase revenues and ensure the health and well-being of businesses as they grow over time.
FinTech Collective was introduced to Oyster’s CEO, Vilash, from the lead investor Marcelo Lima at Monashees. We’ve been impressed by him and his team, particularly their deep domain experience and enthusiasm for building fintech solutions for SMEs in LatAm.
FTC Summary
Oyster is a challenger bank that has developed its own core banking technology platform to solve key financial pain points for sole proprietors and SMEs in Latin America. The company is targeting a massive market need. While 98% of Mexican businesses are SMEs (generating over 50% of the country's GDP), two-thirds are unbanked or underbanked and account for only 15% of total outstanding credit. Banks currently reject over 80% of SME loan applications.
Focused on providing big improvements in the banking experience for Latin American SMEs, Oyster addresses onboarding friction, provides a digital UI/UX, and widens access to debit cards. The founder - Vilash Poovala - is an experienced entrepreneur and former co-founder of Clip: the leading modern POS payment system for SMEs in Mexico.