International Holding Company, the diversified Abu Dhabi-based conglomerate, today (October 10) announced a capital investment of AED734 million ($200 million) in Lulo Colombia, which is also the holding company of Colombia’s first regulated digital bank, Lulo Bank, through one of IHC’s subsidiaries.
One of the fast-growing banks and a new player entering the field of neobanks in the Colombian market, Lulo Bank was founded by Jaime Gilinski, a Colombian businessman with over 45 years of banking experience in Latin America, North America, and Europe. It now plans to expand into other Latin American markets.
According to IHC, the Colombia is the fourth global market in which IHC has expanded its investment activities into this year after the United Kingdom, India and Turkey.
"The fintech ecosystem in Latin America has risen quickly over the past couple of years with sustained growth observed in all segments and in the number of active fintech companies, especially digital banking which has witnessed the most substantial growth at an average annual rate of 57% between 2017 and 2021 to reach 60%," said its CEO Syed Basar Shueb on the strategic acquisition.
"In the case of Colombia, it has made significant progress in terms of financial inclusion with the increase in access to financial products, which rose to 87%," noted Sheub.
"It’s critical for us to align any transaction with our growth strategies, whether to acquire new capabilities or consolidate, and Lulo Colombia sits very well with our expansion plans in Latin America," he added.
Lulo Bank is Columbia’s first fully digitalised bank that has signed up more than 120,000 active users since it was launched in June and is set to complete more than 200,000 users applications by year-end. The bank aims to achieve a customer base of 1 million in Colombia within the next three years.
Chairman Benjamin Gilinski said: "Digital banking has come a long way in Colombia. Adoption of new behaviours and new technologies takes time, but it’s already dramatically changed how consumers interact with financial products in our market."
"The financial companies that win in the future will be those that understand that human behaviour is constantly changing and keep on investing in new technologies. We are thrilled to have IHC join our mission of revolutionising the financial landscape in Latin America," noted Gilinski.
"Earlier this year, Lulo received the prestigious, iF Design Award 2022, a global design award in the 'Interfaces for Digital Media category. This is the first time a company in the financial sector has received this recognition in Colombia. In the past, the iF Award has honoured big brands like Apple and Google," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
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