In recent times there has been a paradigm shift where financial institutions have ceased to be the only vehicle for loans or investments for people. Currently there are collective financing platforms, or crowdfunding, through which people can invest in a project through a web page immediately, in a much simpler, faster and without bureaucracy.
One case is Afluenta, the first collaborative finance network that administers loans between people who seek to make their money work or want to find more human credits.
"It connects those who need a loan to finance their projects (arranging a house, consumption, buying a car, financing the credit card) with investors who have surplus money and invest in those people. explains Alejandro Cosentino, its Founder and CEO.
Argentina has a credit ratio on GDP of 14%, one of the lowest in the world. "There is no credit for everyone and the bank is concentrated in a minority group of people, so the financiers ask the banks for credit to give the rest of the people a very high rate". What he does is distribute among the actors the margin that the banks traditionally take ", argues Cosentino.
"Applying for a loan through Afluenta is easier, faster and safer and, given that several people compete to participate in the same loan, the interest rates may be lower than the ones the applicant publishes and the investors, with their offers of investment, they can also obtain excellent profitability by offering better rates to those who apply for credits, in this way, all are favored, "he says.
Another option available in the market is Wuabi, a crowdfunding platform to know, choose and invest in agricultural productive projects.
Alan Boryszanski, its CEO and Founder, explains how it works. "Wuabi presents projects that can be direct producers, productive management companies and / or trusts, ideal for small and medium savers to participate in a growing market. What the saver obtains is the right over a productive yield This right may be manifested depending on the interest of the producer, in an economic return, for example, an interest rate, or in final products for consumption. "
There are also platforms like NegoZona that tell you how, where and how much to buy a goodwill or a franchise. "Through the platform we connect sellers, whether direct owners, brokers or franchisors, with people who are looking for a business to buy in. The contact generated between the parties is direct," explains Francisco Bastard, its founder.
Finally, there are cases like Inbest Network, a platform to invest in cryptocurrency funds. Leopoldo Simini, Technology Strategist of the company, explains: "It is a project that was born under the premise and vision of facilitating access to cryptocurrencies for everyone, facilitating platforms and technologies that would allow any person not to have to deal with the more technical and complex aspect of the crypto world ".
Timing to invest in the alternative
From a more general perspective, Diego Gonzalez Bravo, Managing Partner at Cygnus Capital, a venture capital firm focused on startups and early stage technology companies in Latin America, highlights that "the Argentine startup ecosystem is very rich and all sectors They demand new ventures raising capital in all sectors ".
"We are particularly focused on some of them where we see very good potential: Fintech, Agtech, Biotech, Cleantech Moreover, beyond these verticals by industry, there are technologies that are transversal to all verticals and we see projects in different areas such as Blockchain, IoT and artificial intelligence ", he adds.
Meanwhile, Sebastian Ortega, Founder and CEO of South Ventures, Latin America's online Venture Capital platform, also argues that there is a strong interest in the field of financial technology.
On the one hand, says the executive, "the financial industry is very big and attractive for any project that manages to stand out and that was added to that last year the price of Bitcoin moved the floor of the big financial companies of the world, attracting attention to projects that can completely change these industries We are still going through the first steps of these changes and that is why investors invest (and invest) a lot of money to be part of them in the long term. "
Cosentino says that last August Afluenta had a historic peak. "There were 741 loans for more than 46 million pesos." Currently, the return an investor is getting from investing in Afluenta, on average, is around 58%.
According to the executive, "this is an alternative investment more than others that exist in the market", since investors participate in loans with rates ranging from 42 to 70%, so it is interesting in an investment menu where they participate . Investors who invest in us also have fixed-term investments, in dollars, in mutual funds. "For its part, the founder of NegoZona perceives "a great opportunity in low-cost franchises, that is, those that require a low level of investment, with small structure costs, and rapid recovery of investment".
"In general, we see an installed need for brands to have a platform to generate not only new franchisees, but the refranchising of current sales points, that is, to incorporate a new franchisee into a functioning point of sale. In response to these needs, both for franchises and also for goodwill, those with healthy proposals aimed at well-being are being highlighted, as well as gastronomic models with low fixed costs ", exemplifies Bastard.
From Boryszanski's point of view, "Argentina is globally recognized for its agricultural potential, so opportunities are not lacking".
"The items that we perceive as more interesting and that additionally are those that have a more concrete need to develop, to publicize their processes and products are those of food specialties, such as biodynamic, organic productions, and / or those with high added value. ", complete.
Opportunity in crisis
According to the founder of NegoZona, "moments of economic instability can be a very good opportunity to invest in a business or franchise, the greater the risk, the greater the benefit". However, regardless of the economic situation, it is important to give an added value to the users.
"We should not limit ourselves only to find tips between buyers and sellers, but to generate the necessary tools for business transfers to be achieved," remarks Bastard.
And complete: "It is important to generate useful and necessary information for the transfer of business, provide a pricing tool that helps establish a price, and financing for the purchase of businesses and franchises." Although the platform is not yet incorporated, we are in negotiations with financial entities that can provide credit lines to support transactions ".
On the other hand, Boryszanski, from Wuabi, considers that "a crowdfunding platform aims to generate inclusion and equal opportunities, empowering sub-served and / or excluded populations by eliminating traditional intermediaries".
In this sense, he warns: "In a situation of economic instability, they become more relevant since, in the first place, these populations tend to grow in proportion to those that do have access to fully satisfy their financial or consumption needs. On the other hand, in most platforms, the system is largely independent of macroeconomic variations, because the shares are translated into proportional real assets ".
For the CTO of Inbest Network there is no doubt that the potential of Blockchain and cryptocurrencies lies in their capacity to transform the economy and the mechanisms of redistribution of wealth.
"Although it is an industry that is only now emerging in a massive way and is at a stage of conception, it has already shown that platforms such as Inbest can help develop more inclusive mechanisms and in turn empower people. Banked, through technologies like these, may in the future access new financing mechanisms and money management that are currently inaccessible, "he predicts.
Collaborate to win
Crowfunding platforms stimulate the creation and development of certain types of innovative businesses that would otherwise not obtain financing. "They help boost the growth of a country with products that improve people's quality of life, generate employment and attract foreign currency in the case of those that export," Ortega says, adding: "If the country is growing, they help If the country is in a state of instability, they help to stabilize it and get it out sooner. "
On the other hand, González Bravo agrees that the crowdfunding platforms are an excellent tool, but according to him they have not taken off in Argentina. Entrepeneurs´Laww created the collective financing regime and gave regulatory powers to the CNV (National Securities Commission), but the regulations imposed by the CNV were too restrictive and then the Collective Funding Platforms have not yet taken off.
The government is encouraging changes in regulation and in the private sector (ARCAP, ASEA and the Fintech Chamber) there is a total willingness to collaborate in this. "I hope we can find a way for the regime to start working," the spokesman said.
In this sense, Ortega considers that "in Argentina they are still in an incipient stage", since there are few initiatives and the situation of the country is not ideal for investors to be encouraged to turn with confidence in alternatives that have high level risky".
And complete: "Although these investments are a good remedy against recessions, it often happens that it is when less activity of this type is found".
In short, these are alternatives for those people who can not invest in certain segments because they do not have the minimum investment amounts or simply because they do not know about the opportunities. These startups provide small and medium savers with the possibility of participating in projects from different industries before they are far from their possibilities, and better still, from doing it from anywhere, in a simple and online way.
