The Peruvian startup Leasy announced it has secured $15 million in debt and $2 million in equity. The company offers automobile financing for ride-hailing drivers in Latin America.
Founders Gregorio Gilardini and Alejandro Garay created Leasy in 2018 to help ride-hailing drivers afford to buy a car to earn steady incomes. The company’s founders saw how many ride-hailing drivers had to rent the vehicles they used since they could not afford car financing to enter this job market.
The business is designed to make it uncomplicated for them to finance a car, with flexible terms, insurance, and a simple payment process included in the transaction. For example, drivers can return the car to Leasy with no penalty if they need to.
Traditional financial institutions charge very high-interest rates and down payments, closing access to financing for the lower-income population. The Peruvian startup Leasy charges a down payment of 5%, while most banks require 20% to 30%.
“That’s an amount of cash that most people don’t have. A lot live day to day and drivers are like ghosts in the system,” Garay explains.
Leasy’s seed round was led by Magma Partners, and other investors included BuenTrip Ventures, Otto Holdings, IncaVentures, and more. Magma Partners’ Nathan Lustig reflected on the impact Leasy has on its customers:
“A car can help bring Latin Americans into the middle class, and a car owner can use it to generate top 30% incomes for their families. Traditional financial institutions overlook huge swathes of Latin Americans.”
The startup has a waiting list of over 1,500 people and has already underwritten more than 370 loan contracts. Leasy says the new resources will help the company expand to Mexico, Colombia, and Chile.
