Contxto – Investments in Latin American startups keep flowing. And once again we’re seeing a Brazilian fintech close an investment for an undisclosed amount.
For Nobli, this round led by Redpoint eventures, means joining the ranks of other successful startups like Gympass, Rappi and Creditas in the VC’s investment portfolio.
Whatever the amount, it’s likely to help the startup achieve its mission of reducing the cost of borrowing via tech.
Loans that leverage investments
Nobli is a fintech that uses a borrower’s registered investments as collateral in case of insolvency.
Meaning, if a person takes a small loan out with Nobli, and experiences returns via their investments but through their own means are unable to pay the loan back, Nobli uses the investment return and there’s no harm done.
The process for it is pretty simple.
First, a borrower determines how much they require. They also select the investments which will act as their debt collateral. Nobli uses artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain tech to evaluate each user’s credit profile and investment portfolio. Based on its findings, it can suggest the most fitting collateral investment for that loan.
While the investment is cooking, the user receives their loan. Accessing the investment’s return is off-limits for the user until they finish paying back what they borrowed. Then in case of insolvency, Nobli takes what’s owed from the investment. Whatever’s leftover goes back to the borrower.
Among its repertoire of investment options are Brazilian securities. It also plans to include other assets like stocks and funds.
Regio Martins and Ricardo Cavalheiro joined their ample experience in finances and co-founded this fintech in 2019. Moreover, Nobli was conceived as part of the Brazilian Central Bank’s innovation laboratory. A government-funded project that seeks to stimulate the emergence of fintechs in Brazil.
Innovating in fintech
Latin America has seen its fair share of personal loan-related fintechs. Examples such as Mexico’s Prestanómico and Colombia’s Aflore come to mind.
Common denominators include relatively quick approval processes, snazzy apps, and less bureaucracy for borrowers.
Related article: Brazilian fintech REBEL raises over US$10 million to scale personal loan platform
However, I find Nobli is a creative take on what’s a rather worn-out plot of personal loan fintech business models. But still, investments can be a fickle thing and take a long time to yield results—assuming they do, that is.
I guess that’s why Nobli only manages small credit lines.
-ML
