What was born as a venture to find a housing solution is already changing the real estate sector in Latin America.
Habi's story began like this: “A few years ago I was about to move to Colombia and the process of finding an apartment to buy was very difficult. I was in the United States and I was only able to search for the house when I was in person in Colombia. When I arrived, I encountered more difficulties, for example, there was no clarity about the offer there was and much less about the appropriate price I should pay. This experience, my experience and my taste for the real estate sector and the expertise in entrepreneurship and technology of my partner Sebastián, made this idea of Habi arise, which seeks to provide liquidity, information and transparency to Latin Americans to empower them in the decision most important financial situation of your life.”
Told by Brynne McNulty Rojas, this is how Habi began, the company that is already considered a unicorn (that is, valued at more than US$ 1,000 million) and that has just announced an “agreement for US$ 30 million with IFC and Victory Park Capital to improve the real estate sector in Latam.”
That is why it is worth remembering what Sebastián Noguera, McNulty Rojas' partner, said when we asked them how everything got started: “I have been working for many years to solve access and liquidity problems for the middle class with technology in Colombia. From the construction of an online supermarket for the middle class (Merqueo), to the creation of massive digital financial products such as credit cards, consumer loans and bank transfers (Banco de Bogotá Digital Lab). A few years ago I understood that the most powerful way to impact the lives of middle class families in the long term was to build the infrastructure so that people can buy, sell and access financing with their home, and yet, there were no great technological bets aimed at this effort, since the market was broken, not only in Colombia, but in Latam. The experience of Brynne, who has been a great friend of mine for years, working in the real estate sector in the US, and trying to buy a home in Colombia, gave us the path to execute this plan.”
And yes, now with the announcement this April, the company informs that the money will be used to support “further the company’s operations across the region, making Habi the first technology platform in the real estate sector to receive support from the IFC.”
That, in other words, how can you read?: “As a central part of its inclusion strategy for Latin America, IFC supports innovative solutions to promote the development of sustainable, resilient and affordable housing, with the aim of expanding access to mortgages and housing financing for unbanked and underserved populations. This new alliance with Habi not only promotes inclusive development by supporting credit solutions aimed at first-time homeowners, but will also improve transparency and liquidity for low- and middle-income consumers,” said Elizabeth Martínez de Marcano, regional director. of IFC for Colombia, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
On the Victory Park Capital side, partner Gordon Watson spoke: “The expansion of our partnership with Habi reflects the confidence we have in Habi's ongoing transformation in the Latin American residential sector. “We remain committed to supporting Habi and its industry-leading platform as it continues to drive the growth of the proptech sector in Latin America.”
How much money has this company managed to add since it made the decision to seek capital? What they say in a press release is that with these announced resources, “IFC joins IDB Invest and several other local and international institutions in supporting Habi's operations since its creation, and continues to strengthen the company's balance sheet, having raised more than US$600 million in equity and debt since its founding in 2019, and positioning Habi as the undisputed leader in the market.”
And no less important fact: “To date, Habi has helped Latin American families make transactions worth more than US$1.5 billion.”
Marcos Kantt, CFO of Habi, assured that “getting significant support from IFC underlines Habi's financial strength and its strategic positioning to transform the proptech sector. “This partnership goes beyond financial support, reinforcing our mission to drive change throughout Latin America.”
