A new healthcare financial platform, Kiwi, has officially launched following a successful $10million seed funding round.
Kiwi launches with a mission to close the healthcare financing gap in Latin America and empower patients to access essential care and equips healthcare professionals with the tools to grow.
Aside from offering a ‘buy now, pay later‘ solution that finances out-of-pocket expenses at the point of sale, Kiwi also offers a full banking platform that provides leasing products for healthcare professionals who aspire to bridge technological gaps, alongside financing solutions that improve cash flow management.
Its seed funding raise includes $2million in pre-seed equity financing and $8million in debt financing for Peru, with a potential extension for Mexico. The company hopes to significantly impact the future of healthcare in the region by becoming the financial backbone of the entire ecosystem and reimagining banking for the healthcare sector.
Kiwi will look to address the critical issue of limited access to healthcare due to low private insurance penetration and inadequate public healthcare expenditure. This systemic gap forces millions to rely on out of-pocket payments to finance medical services, often resorting to predatory informal lending practices.
“The numbers speak for themselves,” explained Sebastian Chirinos, co-founder of Kiwi.”In Latin America, there’s a $60billion out-of-pocket market, a $20billion medical equipment market and providers losing up to a third of patients due to lack of financing. Kiwi is built to address these clear market inefficiencies and unlock access to healthcare across Latin America.”
Eyes are already on expansion
Kiwi will provide a two-sided solution that addresses both patient access and medical provider economics. For patient financing, Kiwi offers accessible financing options, improving patient conversion and clinic revenues. For clinics, having access to medical equipment financing enables them to modernise their infrastructure and expand their capacity.
Launching in Peru, Kiwi’s rapid traction is evident with 73 clinics already signed up as part of the Kiwi network across diverse specialties including dental, ophthalmology, fertility and esthetics, and with a robust pipeline of approximately 150 additional clinics in Peru slated for onboarding within the next two quarters.
Daniella Poppe, CEO of Kiwi Peru, also said: “We are launching Kiwi to address the urgent need for accessible and affordable healthcare financing in Latin America. Our platform provides real-time, tech-enabled solutions that empower patients to access life-changing care while enabling healthcare providers to scale their impact.”
Building on this momentum, Kiwi plans to expand to other markets in Latin America, starting with Mexico in Q1 of 2026 as part of a joint venture with a leading group that holds a strong position in the health sector, targeting both the local healthcare industry as well as a rapidly growing segment of US medical tourism. Kiwi also plans to eventually expand into Central America, including Panama, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and El Salvador.
“We are diligently working to improve the healthcare landscape in Latin America by providing innovative financial solutions that bridge the gap between patients and providers,” added Chirinos. “With Kiwi, we are on our way to creating a more equitable and accessible healthcare ecosystem that works for everyone.”
