B2B card specialist Clara gains $30m in Series A funding

Written by Martin Whybrow
28th May 2021

Mexican smart corporate credit card and spend management solution provider, Clara, has secured $30 million in Series A financing.

Clara offers a range of card services

The round was led by partners from DST Global Partners, with participation from LatAm funds, monashees and Kaszek Ventures, plus Avid Ventures and existing investor, General Catalyst.

The company is also in the process of closing a $50 million debt facility from an as-yet-undisclosed partner.

The funding will go towards accelerating product development and expanding throughout the region, starting with an upcoming Brazil launch, where it has started to hire a team.

Clara says it offers physical and virtual cards with no annual fee; customisable card limits and restrictions; immediate, remote and digital registration; adherence to local regulations and security standards; clarity and transparency, with spend visibility at all times for employees, managers, and administrators; and cardholder companion mobile apps for iOS and Android.

The company was founded by entrepreneurs Diego García and Gerry Giacomán Colyer. Its pre-seed round was led by General Catalyst. It claims “many of Mexico’s best and fastest-growing businesses as early customers”.

Monashees’ Marcelo Lima says: “While the consumer finance space has gone through a revolution in the past few years, the B2B segment has been overlooked.

“Payments, corporate credit cards and expense management represent a massive opportunity globally. Clara has assembled a stellar team to tackle this billion-dollar opportunity in LatAm, solving a big headache for many companies in the region.”

Clara’s García adds: “Above all, we want to create the technology and a first-class experience that will help high-potential companies grow.

“There is no need for the accounting and financial world to be complicated. Clara exists to make things simple and transparent; functional and without unnecessary steps.”