Finestrella S.A.P.I. de C.V., a Mexico City-based provider of mobile telephony services to the low income and unbanked populations in Mexico, has raised US$7m in a Series A financing round. The round was led by social venture capital fund IGNIA Fund I, LP, which committed US$4m, with participation, among others, from Silicon Valley venture funds Bay Partners and Storm Ventures.
Finestrella provides an alternative means for unbanked consumers to acquire affordable postpaid mobile plans without the necessity of a credit card, credit history or upfront deposit. The company’s plans are currently sold in over 250 independent mobile retail points in 7 states of Mexico covering over 35% of the country’s population.
Finestrella currently has over 250 affiliated points of sale in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Veracruz, Culiacan and Saltillo, Mexico.
As also stated by Gabriel Manjarrez, CEO and co-founder of the company, “with funding from IGNIA and our other investors we will rapidly expand the availability of Finestrella’s current offerings while developing other products and services that address the needs of our customer base”.
In conjunction with the funding, Alvaro Rodriguez Arregui and Joshua Motta of IGNIA will join the company’s board of directors.
FinSMEs
10/05/2010