19/Nov/2012 Volver
Por: Anna Heim
17 November 2012
Cumplo, peer-to-peer lending for Chile
Still, its co-founders Nicolas Shea and Jean Boudeguer are confident that their business model is entirely legal – and they have good reasons to believe so. When we met in Santiago last August, they explained that before launching, they had conversations with top lawyers, as well as with the Ministry of Economy, to make sure they weren’t breaking any law or creating a bank.
When the news emerged that Cumplo would go under investigation, a group of high-profile personalities including a former minister sent an open letter to the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio, denouncing a “persecution of entrepreneurship.” This reflects the high-level connections that Shea and Boudeguer have built during their careers – but also the democratizing power that Cumplo can have.
This isn’t the first time the pair has been involved in a high-impact initiative; Shea is the founder of the unique government-supported incubation program Start-Up Chile, of which Boudeguer was the executive director before he left to create Cumplo, a social network that connects potential investors with people who are looking for a loan.
Lenddo, leveraging your social graph for loans
Órama, democratizing investment funds
Bússola do Investidor, spreading financial information
Regalii, a mobile substitute for Western Union
Not only do remittances help many families to remain above the poverty threshold, but the IADB points out that they also have an important impact on the economy of Latin American and Caribbean countries. “Remittances remain a major source of income for many countries in this region. In several of the smaller and poorer nations, they far exceed external aid and net foreign direct investment.”
Movilway, mobile transactions for the unbanked
“Movilway’s vision is to promote the financial inclusion of the millions of people who don’t have credit cards or bank accounts,” said its general manager, Dan Cohen. “In addition, we want to support small business owners with useful technology and financing options that help them grow and manage their business.”
PagSeguro, from online transfers to NFC payments
Pagpop, Brazil’s Square
Image credit: Thinkstock