Episode Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:22 Joining us today is Ampa Nova. She's the co-founder and Chief Alliance and Investment Officer at B 89, a FinTech, allowing fair and transparent cross border digital Payments. Ampa, thank you so much for joining us. So let us know what led you into the digital payment space, which seems to be very hot right now. And also, is there a specific market in mind that you had in mind when you decided to enter the space? What led you to this? What led you to the market?
Speaker 2 00:00:54 Well, I think that it's, uh, it's important to start with, with my story a little bit, uh, because when I, when I start in, in FinTech, eh, I create a, a payment gateway. Eh, the name is Kki and I have an exit with Kki, but it was in 2013 and the exit was in 2018. So when I finish, um, everything with, with Kki, I start creating B 89, that it's my, my second startup. So I was working in the world of, of FinTech in the, in the world of payments, specifically my first startup was focused on merchants, no companies. And in the other side, in B 89, I'm focused on the cons, customers, knowledge, people like people that want, want to consume. So I think that, eh, in that market, in the issuer part, eh, eh, the detail, the detail banks or the neobank are working and are growing, growing very fast.
Speaker 2 00:01:57 Eh, they're focused on digital payments, eh, they are focused on a specific niche also because, uh, there is a trend that is a focus on the verticalization of the banking. So that's part of, of why we, uh, create V 89, eh, because we want to focus, uh, on the community, uh, the Hispanic community. And, but with a, with a cross border solution, we don't want to be another neobank, uh, that is only focused on the local market. Eh, we believe that we are citizens of the world. So that's why we create a very solid platform for cross-border payments with P 89.
Speaker 3 00:02:39 So tell us a bit about Neobank. I know that term is probably new to some folks.
Speaker 1 00:02:43 What exactly does that mean, and what
Speaker 3 00:02:45 Solutions do? New Neobank Springs mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 00:02:47 <affirmative> Banks, the cases are focused on payments, and payments can be, uh, for example, a credit card, a debit card, a wallet that's part of the products that a new bank, uh, have. Um, what it's, uh, different from a new bank or a challenger bank, for example, eh, a new bank. It's a, it's a new startup or a FinTech that use the license, the banking license of a partner so they can work. No, in the case of the Challenger banks, uh, those are the banks and that can, that can be digitaled, but they have their own, uh, license banking. So it's like, um, differentiation of how we manage the operations, no, the, the license and the regulation.
Speaker 3 00:03:39 Great. Now I wanna go back into your story and Thanks. Thanks for sharing with us that background. Could you tell us, when you were looking at this industry, did you have specific models? Did you have people who you knew who were in the industry? And, you know, we can talk about the, the neo banking aspect of it as it relates to digital payments, our people in the financial services industry. How did you find models, and specifically what drew you to those models?
Speaker 2 00:04:07 I have two type of, two type of, of, of role models. The first one is, uh, when we start with, when I start with with Kki, in that moment, I have just finished university, and I didn't know anything about payment. No. So I met a person, a Peruvian guy that lived in Europe, and he worked there with, uh, with a payment gateway. So because of the contest and, and, and everything and, um, that, that we were doing in that, in that moment, um, he met us, uh, and we started talking about payments. So Europe is like 10 years, uh, it's, it's, I mean, it's like 10 years more than, than, than we have here in Peru. So he explained a lot of the payment industry. So that's, that was the first, uh, role model that I had in that moment, uh, that's related to the industry.
Speaker 2 00:05:05 But when, when I, when I was looking for another startups, for example, Stripe, uh, it's one of the best, uh, the best role models that that, that I have seen. I really, I really admire those guys that, that create a stripe. And we were following what they were doing. No, in the case of, of payments for, for, for merchants. And in the case for, for the issuer part, the new banks. I think that the, the guys that were doing like a really, really great job, eh, are the guys from Newbank Newbank, it's like, it's, it's huge. It's huge. They're in the top 10, uh, of the, of the startups in the world, uh, with the most, uh, the higher evaluations. And it's the only one that have a, a female, eh, founder, eh, in, in that list. No. So I really admire that people.
Speaker 3 00:06:05 And just going back to B 89, could you let us know a little bit about the way forward? What do you see the future of looking like? You told us kind of why you created it and why it exists. What, where do you see yourselves in the next year or the next couple of years, eh,
Speaker 2 00:06:18 With B nine? Eh, we want to consolidate the, our value proposition. No, we want to be the neobank of the community, the Hispanic community in the world. So we need to be in more countries to give that, that value proposition to, to everybody. So we have to start in Peru, uh, in 2020. Uh, we have our product running here, uh, but we, uh, are opening the United States. I at the end of this year, of 20, of 2021. So for us, eh, United States is very important because 20% of the population of, of the United States is, uh, they are Latinos. So it's a, it's a very big market, and it's the hub of, of, of money movement. No, people that lives in the United States, they send a lot of money to the, to their country of, so, uh, they're moving always mo uh, they're moving money. So that's what, that's what we want to do. We want to, uh, start, uh, I mean that our product can work in the United States and then continue our expansion to the other countries of Latin America.
Speaker 3 00:07:30 Absolutely. There is a market and there is a need. So, great. Getting an understanding of why it's important, you know, this is a women's history month and why it's important to encourage women, young women, girls who are interested in stem, really encouraging them to do so. Could you let us know why in your thought it is important, and maybe how you were encouraged or how you are encouraging or cultivating that in other women now?
Speaker 2 00:07:58 Yes. Uh, actually, it's, it's really important because when you see now, uh, for example, in, in my case, no, um, most of the people that I'm working with, they are male. And when I talk or when I have like different ideas, uh, or when I'm thinking about women, um, it's like, or if, or they don't understand me or I'm, or I'm the crazy girl, or, or things like that. So it's kind of difficult to, to, to, to, to manage the situation. No, uh, because it's like we are the minority in, in that part. Um, but we need, um, I think that girls that, eh, I mean, we need more girls studying the, this, this type of careers because when they grow, they will have this, uh, this, uh, lead, um, this, I mean, they can lead people and they are going to be on the table taking decisions and thinking in a different way. Because not only numbers are the important things, uh, the soft skills that women have are very important, and we need the to have more girls in the table to, to make important decisions.
Speaker 3 00:09:20 Mm-hmm. Love that. And you really talk about two different gaps, if you will. On pep you talk about addressing the gap that exists in the market in terms of your business for digital payments, um, in the culture. And you also talk about the gap that exists for women. So just bringing that intersectionality together in terms of being a woman of color, what do you think needs to be done to really address some of these gaps? Whether we're talking about a gap in the market to address a sizable market, or if we're talking about a gap in terms of career areas, areas?
Speaker 2 00:09:56 Yes. I think it that it's, um, I mean, now if you, if we want to increase the number of, of, of women in the leadership roles, uh, I think it's kind of difficult. So we need to work with the youngest people. So if we start with, uh, in, in, if we start at universities, if we start in, in, in schools, and we really empower, uh, the people, not only with professional skills, eh, we need to empower also, uh, women with, um, with security. In most of the cases, womens, uh, they, they think in their mind that they cannot do the things, that they cannot achieve that things, and that, eh, we need to break those paradigm par yes, paras in, in our minds. So I think that it's, uh, uh, girls need new role models also that can show them that we can do things. No, and it's o the barriers are only in our minds. I think that's very, very important. Mm,
Speaker 3 00:11:04 Love that. The last thought, last question here. What advice, if you could go back and give yourself some advice, um, when you were younger or just some situation that you can now see more clearly and you can see it from a different perspective, what would that advice be from a career perspective?
Speaker 2 00:11:23 I, I follow my instinct. I always follow my instinct, or I need to hear more my, my instinct. But in the professional world, uh, only that feeling, it's like nobody or take, uh, I mean, people don't care about your feelings or what, or what, what your instinct said. You need to support that with numbers or with something that, something that support your, your instinct. So, uh, I think that we need to work a little bit harder to find that, eh, that that numbers or, or that thing that support what you are feeling in, in that moment. No, um, I hope in one moment that can change, but I think that, eh, it's important to, to have the, the reasons or the important reasons for some people if you want to really make things happen.
Speaker 3 00:12:20 Oh, great advice and great information. Alte, thank you so much for joining us.
Speaker 2 00:12:26 No, thank you. Thank you. Bye-bye.
Speaker 3 00:12:32 Victoria Blanco is founder and c e o of Abaco, a Colombian micro-credit FinTech that focuses on democratizing the financial market for those who work for the gig economy. Victoria's background in computer engineering led to tech job opportunities and companies like Airbus. Then an opportunity to develop marketing strategies for Deloitte brought Victoria to Columbia from her native Spain. And now with a background in FinTech, she's brought us Abaco, the social impact startup. Welcome, Victoria.
Speaker 4 00:13:08 Thank you for inviting me and giving me the chance to tell you about me and about Abaco.
Speaker 3 00:13:14 Wonderful. We want to hear about Abaco and the social problems it solves, but first, why is the Latin American market a great place to be right now, Victoria?
Speaker 4 00:13:25 Well, Latin America is a really big market where there is a large scope of options and growth in the FinTech area for Abaco is definitely the place to be. And the main reasons are the large amount of a bank, the lack of new processes or new methodologies that can measure the customer risk and exponential growth of the gig economy.
Speaker 3 00:13:49 So tell us who is benefiting from Abaco? Be specific. What do your clients look like? What are they struggling with? What sorts of positives do you bring about to those clients and and who are they?
Speaker 4 00:14:01 Abaco provides a financial opportunity to gig economy freelancers. We are working with the main gig economy platforms such as Rapidi, delivery Hero, MEOS Goca. We started our solution in Colombia in 2019, and this month, March of 2021, we have already launched in Mexico. In the case of Colombia, we are given the opportunity to create access to Venezuelan without regular visa that are in the country in Colombia, Abaco is the only Ava label solution in the current market for them. Our customers don't have any previous financial history, or they have been reported in great agencies before. They don't have too much opportunities in the market, and the ones that they have are products with high interest rates. Abaco brings a product to the market that really fits with their needs, with their customer needs, with our value proposition, they can get into the financial system with a product with low interest rates.
Speaker 3 00:15:03 And how did you come up with this idea that people in the gig economy, you're absolutely right, they sometimes need access to resources so they can continue to move their career forward. How did you come up with this idea about helping folks in the gig economy to be able to have access to this?
Speaker 4 00:15:21 Well, when I was working for a cons comprehensive firm in Colombia, I realized that there is a large amount of people serve or financial services, traditional credit scores can measure them because there is a lack of information in the process. Eh, when I was living in Colombia one night, my flight, my flatmate and I, we ordered a wrap. It was a horrible night, rainy, cold. And Rabbi came to our house, a really, um, house really late, uh, because he, he fell from his motorbike. We offered him a glass of water and a place to stay till a big storm. Stop talking with him. He told me that he needed to change some spare parts of the model, but banks don't provide him any credit. He went to a bank and sold them all the earnings that he has with rai. And the answer of the bank offices was, uh, sorry.
Speaker 4 00:16:14 We can help you with the credit. This information is not valid for the score, but his earnings were three times the minimum weight. So I ask myself, why don't we use this information to create any score? These people has a really good earnings, and at this point is where all the story begins. Next steps, eh, where to test the idea with rapid database and start to provide microphones for spare parts. These microphones have allow half a low amount and also are, are a high revolving product that led us to test our model really fast. That with, uh, with another product.
Speaker 3 00:16:54 What Victoria does your future look like? What do you want for your company in a year or in two years? Where will Abaco be in a year or two years
Speaker 4 00:17:06 When Abaco, eh, wants to be the credit reporting agency for and serve and the informal economy people who is living paycheck to paycheck? Currently, we are a lender business model, but we have to, because we have to test our model, our, our data model. But in the future, we want to be a big tech that can rate anyone just reading information from your mobile apps that you have, uh, in your phone, uh, gig economy apps, wallets, or e-commerce. Our goal is to sell this rating to banks, telecom, PropTech, that can provide services to our customers.
Speaker 3 00:17:44 And what is it about Abaco that's going to ensure that you are in all of Latin America in two years? What is your secret to be able to make sure that you are in the entire region in two years? What will you do to get there?
Speaker 4 00:17:59 Well, um, I think we have a really high scalable solution. At the end of the day, if our solution works for wrapping Colombia, it can works for all deliveries in Latin because the information and methodology is the same. Of course, eh, we will have to fix some cultural requirements in our model. But the business model and the tech solution, eh, will be the same.
Speaker 3 00:18:22 Great information Victoria, as well as your interest in computer engineering and FinTech and really bringing it together for social impact. Victoria Blanco, thank you so much for joining us.
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