IDB Lab, the innovation and venture capital arm of the Inter-American Development Bank Group, has announced a $1.5 million investment in Aviva, a Mexican fintech startup founded in 2022. Aviva uses AI-powered kiosks to expand access to financial services among underserved communities across Mexico, marking IDB Lab’s first venture-debt operation in Latin America. The investment not only supports Aviva’s growth but also highlights IDB Lab’s commitment to strengthening Mexico’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and scaling high-impact solutions.
Aviva provides loans of up to $1,000 to individuals in smaller cities with limited access to traditional banking services. Its kiosks offer a fast, paperless, and document-free credit process that takes only seven minutes. By applying machine learning, computer vision, and natural-language processing, Aviva converts conversations into actionable data to assess creditworthiness in real time, moving away from conventional form-based applications.
Through its innovative “phygital” model, Aviva addresses long-standing barriers to financial inclusion. Customers are encouraged to share their personal stories instead of presenting rigid documentation such as employment records or bank statements, allowing technology to turn these stories into valuable insights for financial access. This approach has already helped Aviva gain traction in underserved markets.
The financing from IDB Lab will help Aviva expand its loan portfolio and increase its footprint, with plans to grow from over 70 kiosks to 150 by year’s end. To date, Aviva has raised more than $16 million in equity, reflecting strong investor confidence. With this latest support, the company aims to reach a market of 70 million people across Mexico.
This investment underscores IDB Lab’s broader mission to back innovative companies with scalable impact while fostering local partnerships to advance financial inclusion and sustainable growth in Latin America.
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