Trébol Secures $3 Million to Help Banks and Lenders in Latin America Automate the Verification Process for Businesses
MEXICO, May 24, 2023 – Trébol, a startup that seamlessly automates business identity verification and underwriting decisions, has secured $3 million in seed funding to help modernize how companies in Latin America are onboarded. Trébol’s infrastructure is revamping how banks, lenders, and compliance officers onboard their business customers by automating traditional pen-and-paper processes. With Trebol’s technology, banks and lenders can quickly access must-have data from reliable sources such as formation documents, tax records, proof of address, and more to onboard a business safely.
In today’s market, banks can easily verify a consumer's identity by asking for a few pieces of information, allowing customers to open new financial products almost instantly. When it comes to verifying the identity of a business, the process can take weeks, particularly across Latin America. It can also delay the opening of any accounts, a procedure Fabian Torres Becerra, CEO and co-founder of Trébol, is all too familiar with as a former financial industry executive and entrepreneur. Without this infrastructure, business owners have to fill out dozens of forms and go through a lengthy document-sharing process to access financial products and services.
“Improving the process of verifying a business is more important than ever. Business owners have a lot on their plate and shouldn’t face yet another obstacle. On the other side, banks and lenders have to comply with increasing regulatory demands and have to run a thorough review for each new business customer. It’s a process that can take weeks and for many business owners every minute counts, especially when it comes to accessing financial services. This is why my co-founder, Luis Buitrago León, our team, and I are committed to changing this part of the industry,” said Torres, CEO and co-founder of Trébol.
Torres and Buitrago, who met in college, said the idea to create Trébol came from their personal experiences and extensive market research. Before launching the company, Torres and Buitrago spoke to hundreds of financial institutions, and a common problem surfaced was the need to quickly and safely onboard businesses.
“Our technology, which leverages artificial intelligence and data collection, has enabled us to automate the onboarding process for thousands of businesses across Mexico and Colombia. It’s a milestone we’re extremely proud of. We also recognize we’re just getting started which is why we’re working around the clock to expand our product and help millions of business owners,” said Buitrago, CTO and co-founder of Trébol.
Since its inception, the company has automated the verification of more than 8,000 businesses for banks, lenders, and expense management platforms in Mexico and Colombia, allowing business owners to get approved for new bank accounts and credit cards in minutes, not weeks. Clara, the fastest growing business expense management platform in Latin America, can attest to Trébol’s technology capabilities. The company started using Trébol in 2022 and has had a positive experience onboarding businesses to its platform.
“Trébol helped us reduce underwriting time by 25% from the get-go, and we expect to reach a 50% total time reduction once we are fully integrated and with Trébol’s constant improvements,” said Katherine Arangoitia, Credit Manager at Clara.
Investors who participated in the raise believe Trébol’s technology has the potential to change the landscape and provide banks with a much-needed solution that’s been absent.
“It’s astonishing to see that the process of verifying a business has remained unchanged, especially with all the innovations we have seen in the fintech industry. This is a critical component to ensure that businesses thrive in our ecosystem. We’re excited to partner with Fabian, Luis, and the Trébol team to improve one of the biggest barriers that exist today when verifying a business in Latin America,” said Jared Newman of Canaan Partners.
Better Tomorrow Ventures who co-led the raise says Trébol is well-positioned to become the go-to solution for business onboarding across Latin America and beyond.
“When we met Fabian and Luis, we were immediately impressed by their commitment and dedication to building a solution that’s essential for business owners, banks, and lenders. Trébol has identified a real problem when it comes to business verification in Latin America and they found a way to fix such a tedious process that’s been long overdue. We view this as a win-win for all parties involved,” said Sheel Mohnot, co-founder of Better Tomorrow Ventures.
The funding round was led by Better Tomorrow Ventures and Canaan Partners along with participation from Y Combinator, SOMA Capital, Unpopular Ventures, and angel investors from Moons, Kala, and Doppler.
Trébol plans to use the funding to expand the product into new markets and grow the team. Currently, the service is available in Mexico and Colombia.
About Trébol
Trébol seamlessly automates business identity verification and underwriting decisions allowing banks, lenders, and insurers to quickly onboard its customers. The company, which was founded in 2021, has automated the verification of more than 8,000 businesses for banks, lenders, and expense management platforms in Mexico and Colombia. Trébol also received an investment from Y Combinator and was part of the winter 2022 accelerator program.
