Minu knows that financial and employee well-being are linked, so he created 30 gamified benefits • TechCrunch

Minu, a Mexico-based employee wellness company, has secured $30 million in new funding as it continues to expand its gamification and rewards features, including saving money or taking financial education courses , while improving employer retention.

Company co-founder and CEO Nima Pourshasb told TechCrunch that 80% of Mexicans live paycheck to paycheck with no savings, while a third often need to take out loans to cover basic recurrent expenses.

“The pandemic was an important part of the more humanistic approach to caring for employees,” Pourshasb said. “We’ve seen a shift in the market toward employee wellness and the use of technology to improve quality of life – the financial, physical and mental health of employees.”

He also explained that Mexican regulations have helped: The country passed a law, known as Nom 35, that requires companies to monitor their employees’ stress and put in place mechanisms to help them.

“The main source of stress is often financial, so that’s been a really big boost,” Pourshasb added.

The new capital is a combination of $10 million in a funding round from Coppel Capital, Besant Capital and Enea Capital, as well as existing investors FinTech Collective, QED and Salkantay, and $20 million in debt from Accial Capital . In total, Minu has raised $50 million.

Pourshasb declined to disclose Minu’s valuation, but said that with the new funds, the company had a 22-month lead.

In 2021, my colleague Mary Ann Azevedo featured Minu when it raised $14 million in Series A funding. At the time, the pay-as-you-go company, founded by Pourshasb, Rafael Niell and Paolo Rizzi, was working with 100 corporate clients and had only one product, Access to Earned Wages, which provides instant access to employees’ earned wages for a fixed withdrawal of $2. costs.

Almost two years later, Minu has more than 300 corporate clients, such as Grupo Modelo, Coppel and Cinemex, and its turnover has more than quintupled between 2021 and 2022.

Also new is a SaaS subscription model where half of its revenue is now generated, paid for by employers so employees can enjoy the more than 30 benefits for free which include access to health and mental health through telemedicine, insurance discounts, financial services education, bill payment and virtual fitness classes.

Additionally, Minu has a new credit union as a service that allows employers to offer savings starting at 8% for fully liquid deposits and cheap nimble loans. This compares to the annual percentage rate of 400% for a loan at a traditional Mexican bank.

Employees who consume the financial education or fitness and mediation content can earn rewards, such as increased savings percentages and life insurance dollar amounts.

Meanwhile, the company intends to use the new capital to continue distribution to customers and the continued development of its employee wellness platform to include more modules for human resources and managers. financial. Minu will continue to focus on Mexico, expanding to Monterrey, Guadalajara and Yucatan.

“Mexico is where we see huge opportunities,” Pourshasb said. “The biggest opportunity for us is to continue to expand geographically in Mexico with companies of all sizes, continuing to take advantage of the enormous inertia and positioning we have in the market.”