Abu Dhabi’s IHC expands into Latin America, invests $200m in Lulo Colombia

Abu Dhabi-based International Holding Company (IHC) has injected a capital investment of Dhs734m ($200 m) in Lulo Colombia, the holding company of Colombia’s first regulated digital bank, Lulo Bank, through one of its subsidiaries.

Founded by Colombian businessman Jaime Gilinski, Lulo Bank is Columbia’s first fully digitalised bank. It has signed up more than 120,000 active users since it was launched in June this year and is set to complete more than 200,000 users applications before the end of 2022.

The bank aims to achieve a customer base of one million in Colombia within the next three years.

Syed Basar Shueb, CEO of IHC said: “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 per cent between 2017 and 2021 to reach 60 per cent.

“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 per cent. 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.”

Benjamin Gilinski, chairman, Lulo Bank, 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.”

The Colombian market is the fourth global market which IHC has expanded its investment activities into this year after the UK, India, and Turkey.

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