Crema, a fintech platform founded in 2021 by Christian Jacobsen and Ramón Ornelas, is ending the year with ambitious expansion plans. Originating from the founders’ personal challenges as international freelancers facing high costs and complexities in receiving payments, Crema was established to streamline money transfers for freelancers and remote workers billing international clients. The platform allows users to customize their payments and save on commission fees, with the fintech charging a 2% transaction fee and additional costs for currency exchange depending on the country.
Innovatively, Crema also offers options to withdraw in crypto, advance payroll, invoice collections, and access credit lines, including a MasterCard-backed dollar card. Participating in Batch 5 of Platanus Ventures, Crema has successfully garnered over 6,500 clients within the region and is actively working to expand financing options on its platform, addressing the liquidity and growth capital needs of freelancers often overlooked by traditional banks.
To continue its growth trajectory and platform enhancements, Crema aims to raise an additional $1 million in a new investment round by March, with nearly half already committed. This capital is intended for expanding payment methods, marketing channels, influencer partnerships, and PR initiatives. With users across almost all Latin American countries, Crema’s immediate goal is to enable local transfers from Chile and Colombia by the end of 2023, with plans to include the United States and Canada in 2024. The fintech also aims to increase its user base tenfold to 60,000 within a year and achieve annual revenues of $5 million within two years.
In line with these expansion goals, Crema is also looking to incorporate more partners to broaden its offerings to users. These partnerships are expected to provide additional capital support and risk and collections management, depending on the preferred model. With these strategic plans, Crema is set to significantly enhance its footprint in the fintech space, offering more accessible and efficient financial services to freelancers and remote workers across the Americas.
