Colombian company Acasa announced it has raised US$38 million (US$4.7 million in seed capital and US$33 million in debt). The round was led by Quona Capital and is one of the fund’s first investments in a Latin American proptech company. Other participating investors included Metaprop, Wollef –who had led a previous round in May 2021– and Y Combinator. Several individual founders, including Cyril Berdugo (Landis), Brian Ma (Divvy Homes), Dileep Thazmon (Jeeves), Daniela Izquierdo and Juan Guillermo Azuero (Foodology), and Daniel Vallejo (Addi), also invested. Architect Capital financed the debt. With these new funds, Acasa will focus on increasing its operations in Colombia and supporting its expansion into Mexico.
Acasa is the first proptech company with the “buy before you sell” model in Latin America. Its counterparts (and inspiration) in the US include Knock, Orchard, Fly Homes, and Homeward. The company makes it easy for homeowners to purchase a new home without needing to sell their old property. It does this by making down payment loans, signing up for the new mortgage, and handling the sale of the old house. Through its website, Acasa allows potential clients to pre-qualify in less than 48 hours. The investment in Acasa comes at an interesting time for proptech companies in Latin America. In 2021, more than US$21 million were invested in this sector, which includes startups such as Loft in Brazil, and Habi and La Haus in Mexico and Colombia. To first expand into Mexico and eventually to other Latin American countries, the Acasa team has taken into consideration the differences in operations in each country. For example, Colombia doesn’t have a government entity like the Mexican INFONAVIT, which grants access to housing. According to the company’s CFO, Acasa is analyzing how to integrate this player into their strategy in Mexico.