Santiago, Chile-based Creditú provides flexible mortgages and home-improvement loans to low- and middle-income families in Latin America using alternative and AI-based underwriting.
“Informal workers are often left out because banks depend on formal income proofs and slow, rigid approval processes,” ALIVE’s María Pia Morante tells ImpactAlpha.
The company has originated about 12,000 mortgages and downpayment assistance loans totaling $800 million to homebuyers in Chile, Brazil, and Peru. It mostly focuses on first-time home buyers and home financing in social housing properties.
Creditú raised $6 million in Series A financing led by ALIVE Ventures, via its $80 million second fund. L4 Venture Builder also participated.
Inclusive fintech
Strict banking requirements, high downpayment requirements, lengthy approval processes, and financial exclusion of informal workers, who represent nearly half of the region’s labor force, have locked out millions from homeownership.
“Informal workers [in Latin America] are often left out because banks depend on formal income proofs,” ALIVE’s María Pia Morante tells ImpactAlpha.
By looking at alternative risk factors, Creditú says it’s able to reach customers traditional lenders exclude, and approve loans nearly four times faster.
More than 55% of its approved borrowers last year were women and 14% were immigrant families. Other fintechs are tackling similar barriers across the region. Vinte is building sustainable and affordable housing for middle-income families, while Masaki provides bridge financing for small developers and households building affordable homes.
