In step with the Colombian Nationwide Federation of Traders (Fenalco), there are just about 700,000 micro-businesses in Colombia. and in line with information equipped through the traders’ union, there are about 450,000 group shops that generate round 1.75 million jobs within the nation.
Whilst the rustic is experiencing a growth in expertise startups, a strategy to fortify the standard of lifetime of micro agencies and group shops in Colombia is coming from the hand of Tremendous Pagos; a technology-based corporate that gives inclusive and virtual monetary answers for shopkeepers to procure further source of revenue through having the ability to be offering their shoppers different fee choices, now not simply money.
Tremendous Pagos , was once born after its founders Baudoin Pineda and Miguel Giraldo , of their reports within the other neighborhoods of Colombian towns as shopkeepers and vendors, known the desires of the rustic’s micro-businesses, which in Colombia are greater than 1,000,000 .
This section of the standard financial system, the place in line with a learn about 65% of the meals that Colombians purchase remains to be purchased in group shops and the place 20% of those are greater than two decades outdated, from 5 to ten years the 16%, from 2 to five years, 26% and 38% not up to 2 years, and that bit by bit has developed over the years, allowed the founders of Tremendous Bills to spot that this business didn’t have virtual and technological equipment that will permit them to stand the brand new demanding situations as marketplace gamers, with an target market this is extra hard each day, hard new techniques of shopping for, higher services and products, virtual method of fee, expertise and new merchandise.
Nowadays Tremendous Bills generates 75 direct jobs, round 500 oblique jobs and is found in 750 municipalities of the rustic’s 32 departments, achieving greater than 32 thousand related micro-businesses that may use equipment akin to ”clean” and ”flip off ”, flagship merchandise of the corporate.
Based in 2019, Tremendous Pagos permits those that use its platform to have a expansion of as much as 20% relating to gross sales the usage of, for instance, virtual bills, or providing monetary services and products, mobile phone recharges, bills, transfers, amongst others, thus permitting them to diversify the portfolio in a global the place purchasers search new and higher monetary services and products each day.
In an interview with Cristian Gamboa, who owns a stationery retailer within the Las Violetas group in Dos Quebradas, Risaralda, Colombia, he states that since he began the usage of “refácil,” The platform has allowed him to extend the drift of consumers in his industry through between 15 and 20%, since they to find all kinds of services and products that they may be able to gain via this virtual answer in his stationery retailer.
“Some other receive advantages that I’ve validated since I’ve been the usage of the platform is that, for instance, shoppers cross-purchase me, this is, they arrive to shop for pins or recharge their mobile phones and go away with any other product that I promote. in my industry” stated Mr. Gamboa to this medium.
”Refácil” and ”Apagar” is a totally loose platform for micro-businesses and group shops, the corporate does now not monetize for using the platform, however they monetize every time a industry makes a transaction, it’s this is, they monetize via 3rd events.
In step with Pineda, probably the most stunning factor about Tremendous Pagos is that it’s been a industry type in keeping with a bootstrapping type, the place they’ve now not gained funding, the whole lot has been funded through the similar purchasers and the similar dividends that the corporate has left.
On the other hand, this doesn’t imply that the corporate isn’t on the lookout for funding, in truth, they’re these days beginning an funding spherical that they classify as their Sequence A. “It’s an ordinary sequence as a result of it’s our first spherical and after we opt for a sequence A, however the numbers give a boost to it. We don’t imagine it to be a seed or pre-seed spherical as a result of it will be giving the corporate the numbers and figures that we have already got,” stated Pineda.
The platform constructed alliances with vital banking entities akin to Bancolombia, probably the most biggest banks in Latin The united states, in order that shopkeepers can be offering QR codes to their shoppers with out the desire for a dataphone, which helped them building up competitiveness in opposition to huge supermarkets and hidden shops, in addition to develop your gross sales.
Figures to focus on
- Because the release 3 years in the past, they’ve now not stopped rising at double digits.
- They’ve greater than 30 thousand micro agencies affiliated with their platform.
- They aspire to near 2022 with greater than 50 thousand micro agencies affiliated with their answer.
- They closed 2021 with greater than 100 million transactions.
- Roughly greater than 4 million customers who have interaction with the goods go via its shops each and every month.
- That they had a gross sales last in 2021 of 250 million bucks.
Past its just right figures in simply 3 years of operation beneath a bootstrapping type, Tremendous Bills generates an entire social have an effect on akin to: poverty aid, last gaps, in gender equality, we discover that round 40% of companies they serve are led through ladies.
Probably the most demanding situations that, in line with Pineda, they’ve needed to face, has been as a way to have an easy-to-use device, taking into consideration that the learning degree of the sphere that affects, there’s a nonetheless grownup inhabitants which can be the house owners of micro-businesses and shops , then the problem is to design a product that they don’t reject and that they may be able to use simply and that they’ve achieved somewhat smartly.
enlargement plans
Gazing that in relation to micro-businesses, the corporate was once ready to look at that they behave in an excessively equivalent manner and the desires are similar to the ones of the Latin area, which makes it a product that matches and is straightforward. to export it in a easy method to different Latin American international locations.
With the capital elevating plans of the funding spherical for its Sequence A, Tremendous Pagos desires to achieve extra Latin international locations they usually have already got advertising and marketing research to achieve Mexico, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil with their services and products someday.
(In regards to the writer: Julian Tabares is editor of the Soy Emprendedor web site)