Company:Weemba
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Personal finance, Software |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Headquarters | Miami, Florida |
Key people | Constancio Larguia, Founder & CEO, Weemba Global; Sebastian Bellora, CTO; Martin Arriola, COO; Matthew Reid, Chief of Lender Relations |
| Revenue | N/A |
Number of employees | 18 |
| Website | www |
Weemba is a social network that enables borrowers and professional lenders to find and transact with each other more efficiently. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company's founder is serial entrepreneur Constancio Larguia, who co-founded the first online stock brokerage firm in Latin America.[1][2] The website previously launched in Argentina and Spain.[3]
Business model
Borrowers seeking small business or SBA loans, mortgage refinancing, line of credit or home equity loans, working capital financing, debt consolidation or other unsecured consumer loans submit “loan projects” via Weemba's website. Weemba utilizes a “social community” type format wherein borrowers are encouraged to create and populate a profile as well as their loan project[4] and have the option to use their Facebook in relation to their profile. Weemba also uses “unique proprietary methods and state-of-the-art safeguards TO “exponentially increases the likelihood of successful financial outcomes for its members, both borrowers and lenders.”
Besides the reason for and amount of a loan, borrower profiles may include information like income, education level and veteran status (individuals) to their number of employees, annual sales or revenue and articles of incorporation (businesses). Borrowers are encouraged to populate their project with as much current information as possible to increase the likelihood of attracting a lender's attention. At no times does Weemba obligate any borrower to include information they are not comfortable providing, including a credit score.
Lenders search projects created by borrowers and narrow them down by credit score, amount needed, location, type of loan and other criteria. When a lender finds a loan project that interests them, the lender messages the borrower for access to their real identity and private details about the project. The lender pays Weemba a flat fee to facilitate this; borrowers pay Weemba nothing to participate. The borrower and lender then directly negotiate to create a new loan without Weemba's further involvement and outside the Weemba platform/website.[5][6][7]
Unlike peer-to-peer lending sites, Weemba's lenders are banks and professional lending institutions, not individuals. Weemba is neither a bank itself nor a lending broker. While lending brokers match borrowers with lenders and may negotiate loan terms between the parties, Weemba does not directly finance loans or hold the borrower's assets at any point.[8]
Overview
In 2011, raised $2.4m in its first round of venture capital funding and the investment was made by Breslau Capital Partners.[4]
References
- ↑ http://www.crunchbase.com/person/constancio-larguia-2
- ↑ Bloomberg BusinessWeek corporate profile, Weemba, Inc.
- ↑ "Weemba launches website to connect borrowers with lender". Bizjournals. http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/print-edition/2011/10/21/connect-borrowers-with-lenders.html?page=all. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Weemba Raises $2.4M in First Venture Capital Funding Round" (in en-US). FinSMEs. September 13, 2011. http://www.finsmes.com/2011/09/weemba-raises-2-4m-venture-capital-funding.html.
- ↑ Anderson, Tom (September 28, 2011). "Making Personal Loans for Fun and Profit". Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomanderson/2011/09/22/picking-favorites-at-finovate-fall-2011/. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
- ↑ Rubin, Courtney (September 21, 2011). "4 Start-ups Help Entrepreneurs Get Cash". Inc.. http://www.inc.com/news/articles/201109/new-ways-to-get-cash.html. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
- ↑ "Finovate Fall 2011: New Online Financial Services for Your Business". AllBusiness.com. September 28, 2011. http://www.allbusiness.com/finovate-2011-financial-tools/16691421-1.html. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
- ↑ "Helping Banks Get Data From Customers Who Don't Want to Share". American Banker. September 20, 2011. http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/176_183/bank-data-security-finovate-1042369-1.html. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
External links
- Company blog
- Finovate Fall 2011 video explaining Weemba’s business model
- Company YouTube Channel
- Company Twitter Page
- Weemba on LinkedIn
 |
