At ColCapital’s annual gathering, one of Colombia’s premier events for Venture Capital, ALIVE won two awards in the Venture Capital Fund Category: Best Fundraising and Best Portfolio Company.
The Fundraising award recognized the successful launch of our USD $80 million second fund, making ALIVE the largest impact fund manager in Spanish speaking Latin America with over $75M in AUM.
The Best Portfolio Company award recognized the incredible work of portfolio company, Finaktiva, in reducing the financing gap for SMEs and scaling their work across the country since our investment.
Continue reading to learn how ALIVE’s fundraising success and Finaktiva’s achievements are driving meaningful change in the region.
Becoming the Largest Impact Fund Manager in Spanish Speaking Latam
The Best Fundraising Award is not just a testament to the successful launch of our second fund, but a reflection of ALIVE’s track record of impact and business performance in our first fund, which launched in 2018.
Through that fund we have positively impacted more than 10 million lives, reaching some of the region’s most vulnerable communities, while also helping to scale portfolio company operations across the region and into new markets through tailored accompaniment and strategic guidance.
The first close of our second fund in 2023 (we expect a final close in the first quarter of 2025), marked an important milestone in both ALIVE’s trajectory and in the evolution of the impact investing ecosystem in Colombia and Latin America.
“Raising capital in Latin America over the last couple of years has been challenging. Being able to close a new fund, almost three times the size of our first fund, under these market conditions, makes us feel extremely honored of the trust placed in us by existing and new investors. More importantly, it is a statement that financial returns and positive social change can in fact be achieved without compromising on either,” said Santiago Alvarez, ALIVE’s co-founder and Managing Partner.
ALIVE is grateful to all its investors who made that first close possible. In fact, many of ALIVE’s investors are local. They are local institutions and local individuals who believe, like us, that investing catalytic capital and providing tailored, hands-on accompaniment to those early-stage investees can help solve some of the most pressing challenges faced by low-income communities.
Finaktiva’s Drive to Create a More Inclusive Financing Ecosystem for Colombia’s Entrepreneurs
Finaktiva is one of Colombia’s leading providers of inclusive financial capital for entrepreneurs across the country. Since our investment in July 2021, Finaktiva has achieved impressive growth, demonstrated a deep resilience to complex market conditions, and has managed to adapt its business model continuously to better serve its customers and expand its footprint in the country.
Part of that adaptation involved Finaktiva deepening its value proposition, evolving from a credit platform to offering a comprehensive suite of digital financial and cash management solutions. To date, they have supported the growth of more than 10,000 SMEs.
By closing the gap in access to financing for SMEs, Finaktiva contributes significantly to economic development in a region, where SMEs represent 99% of companies and 65% of employment.
Its focus on sustainability have also made it a benchmark in the fintech sector in Colombia. Receiving awards from Colombia’s Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation, and achieving recertification as a B Company, Finaktiva has continued to reaffirm its commitment to impact on the Sustainable Development Goals.
Building Momentum Towards Equality
For ALIVE, these awards represent more than just milestones in our journey—they mark the momentum we have built since the launch of our first fund six years ago. This momentum is shared with our investors, our team, our investees, and, most importantly, the end customers in low-income communities across the region for whom we engage in this work.
As we continue to fuel the growth of businesses that drive greater equality and sustainable development, together with our stakeholders, we hope to continue transforming lives for some of the region’s most vulnerable and to reshape the investment landscape in Latin America.