Sommos (formerly PasanaQ)

High-Level Overview

Sommos (formerly PasanaQ) is a fintech company founded in 2021 in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, that builds a mobile app digitizing informal rotating savings groups—known as "ROSCA," "tanda," or "Pasanaku"—to connect unbanked and underbanked populations in Latin America with formal banks and retailers.[1][2][5] It serves low-income individuals who rely on informal savings (e.g., 70% in Peru build homes solely through savings, 20% join rotating groups) and partners with banks and businesses to make this "invisible" financial activity visible, enabling financial inclusion without high-interest microcredit.[1][2] The app solves financial exclusion in a region where 70% are unbanked/underbanked despite profitable banks (14% ROE), offering users financial and commercial benefits while helping institutions reach underserved markets.[2][3]

Operations began in Bolivia two years ago, expanding to Peru and Colombia, with plans for five countries this year; it has raised funding from Techstars Global and others, showing early growth momentum through strategic partnerships and user-focused strategies like focus groups.[1][2]

Origin Story

Sommos emerged from the founders' recognition of Latin America's reliance on informal savings amid distrust of formal finance. Co-founder and CEO Diego Rojas Arancibia drew inspiration from U.S. financing accessibility during his time there, contrasting it with regional gaps; he's pursuing an MPP/MBA.[1][4] Jhonny Ventiades Guillen, CTO, brings software engineering experience from multinational roles in India, Egypt, and Bolivia.[2] Yara Lewensztain Zelaya, COO, transitioned from employee to co-founder after three months; a Bolivian with degrees in business administration, commercial engineering, and a master's in international business from Spain, she previously co-founded a marketplace startup that raised $20K but closed during the pandemic, fueling her entrepreneurship passion.[1][2]

The idea crystallized around digitizing traditional ROSCA systems present in 77 countries, making group savings formal and bank-visible. Initially PasanaQ, it launched as the first such app in Latin America, with early traction via bank partnerships and field research.[1][5]

Core Differentiators

• Digitization of Informal Systems: Transforms cultural savings practices (e.g., Pasanaku in Bolivia) into a formal app, bridging unbanked users to banks without replacing traditions—unlike high-rate microcredit.[1][2][5]
• B2B Partnership Model: Not just software; acts as a strategic partner for banks/retailers, using focus groups, interviews, and field visits to boost adoption and tailor solutions.[1]
• User-Centric Benefits: Mobile app provides financial/commercial perks to low-income savers, addressing 70% unbanked/underbanked while leveraging banks' profitability incentives.[2][3]
• Regional Expertise & Expansion: Bolivia-founded with rapid scaling to Peru/Colombia, backed by Techstars, emphasizing developer-led innovation and ecosystem integration.[1][2]

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Sommos rides the fintech inclusion wave in Latin America, where informal finance dominates amid low banking penetration, amplified by post-pandemic digital adoption and profitable banking sectors seeking new revenue.[1][2] Timing aligns with rising demand for embedded finance and open banking, as 70% self-fund big purchases via savings—untapped data that Sommos formalizes, influencing ecosystems by onboarding millions to formal rails.[1][2] Market forces like high microcredit rates and regulatory pushes for inclusion favor it, positioning Sommos to reshape fintech from exclusionary to collaborative, potentially inspiring similar digitizations globally.[1][5]

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Sommos is poised for accelerated expansion to five countries, deepening bank integrations and scaling user acquisition via its ROSCA digitization edge.[1] Trends like AI-driven credit scoring from savings data and regulatory fintech support will propel growth, evolving its influence from niche innovator to regional inclusion leader—ultimately transforming how LatAm's unbanked join the formal economy, echoing its origins in cultural finance traditions.[1][2]