AFICO

What AFICO does

AFICO (Asociación de Instituciones de Financiamiento Colectivo, A.C.; also styled Asociación de Plataformas de Fondeo Colectivo) is a Mexican civil association founded in 2017 and headquartered in Colonia Condesa, Ciudad de México. It functions as the principal trade body (gremial) for Mexico's crowdfunding industry, representing ~20 accredited member platforms — including Afluenta, Prestadero, 100 Ladrillos, PlayBusiness, YotePresto, Snowball, Fondify, Fundary, and Monific — across six crowdfunding categories: Inmobiliaria (real estate), Equity, Donaciones (donations), Préstamos (loans), Recompensas (rewards), and Regalías (royalties). Its core offering is the Programa de Acreditación de Plataformas de Financiamiento Colectivo ("Sello AFICO"), which certifies member platforms against a code of ethics, legal profile, transparency, and security standards; AFICO itself explicitly states that it does not supervise, regulate, or guarantee the solvency of its members, with that authority reserved to the CNBV under the Ley Fintech.

AFICO operates with a small team (~16 employees) led by Director General Miguel Ángel Mejía and a board drawn from member platforms (Gerardo Obregon / Prestadero as President, plus representatives of Snowball, Fundary, Monific, Fondify, 100 Ladrillos, Yo te Presto) and independent advisers (affiliated with AWS, Tenet Consultores, Prima Consultoria). Revenue is generated through membership fees from three tiers — Aliados (professional firms), En Proceso de Afiliación, and Asociados (accredited members) — supplemented by educational-program revenue from recurring Taller de Financiamiento workshops and the Crowdfunding & Fintech diploma delivered with Universidad Yoshikai.

The association's go-to-market is community-led: it recruits platforms through direct engagement, promotes the sector via events (Foro Internacional de Prevención de Lavado de Dinero, Semana Nacional del Emprendedor, Crevolution 2018, university housing forums), publications with Crowdfunding México, and member-driven campaigns such as #JuntosSumamos launched during the COVID-19 economic recovery. AFICO also positions itself as the unified industry voice engaging regulators including CNBV, CONDUSEF, and Banco de México, the last of which it has trained on Fintech topics — a role no other Mexican crowdfunding body appears to occupy.

Name

AFICO

Legal name

Asociación de Instituciones de Financiamiento Colectivo, A.C.

Website

https://afico.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AFICO is the principal Mexican trade association for crowdfunding platforms, accrediting ~20 member platforms across six categories (real estate, equity, donations, loans, rewards, royalties) and representing the sector before regulators including CNBV, CONDUSEF, and Banco de México.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fintech Trade Association

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Professional & Association Conferences (MPAGAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Conferences & Conventions Operations Services (Registration, AV, Logistics) (MPAGAGAM)

Keywords

• Crowdfunding association
• Platform accreditation
• Industry advocacy
• Fintech education
• Trade association services

Headquarters

HQ city

Mexico City

HQ country

Mexico

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: AFICO generates revenue through membership fees collected from affiliated crowdfunding platforms. The association also administers a continuity fund for specific activities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

AFICO is a civil association (A.C.) that serves as the trade body for Mexico's crowdfunding sector, accrediting member platforms through its Sello AFICO seal, running educational diploma and workshop programs on crowdfunding and fintech, and representing the industry before regulatory authorities such as CNBV and CONDUSEF. Its operations are funded primarily through membership fees collected from affiliated crowdfunding platforms and through administered continuity fund activities.

Product overview

AFICO is an industry association (Asociación de Plataformas de Fondeo Colectivo) that serves as a coordinating body for Mexico's crowdfunding ecosystem rather than a technology product company. Its core offerings include the Programa de Acreditación de Plataformas (accreditation program with the Sello AFICO seal), the #JuntosSumamos collaborative investment campaign, and educational services (Taller de Financiamiento and Curso Crowdfunding & FINTECH). The association categorizes its member platforms across six crowdfunding types: Préstamos (lending), Inmobiliario (real estate), Equity (collective investment), Donaciones (donations), Recompensas (rewards), and Regalías (royalties).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Programa de Acreditación de Plataformas de Financiamiento Colectivo (Sello AFICO)

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Universidad YoshikaicoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Educational partner for AFICO's Crowdfunding & Fintech diploma program. Universidad Yoshikai is an institution dedicated to training conscious, prosperous entrepreneurs with high impact on their communities.
• CONDUSEFcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerComisión Nacional para la Protección y Defensa de los Usuarios de Servicios Financieros - Mexican financial regulator that participated as speaker in AFICO's educational programs.
• Banco de México (Banxico)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMexico's central bank received Fintech training from AFICO, demonstrating the association's role in educating regulatory authorities about crowdfunding.
• Concreces MXminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecialists from Concreces MX participated with AFICO in the Foro Universitario de Vivienda 2018 at Universidad Anáhuac del Sur.
• Sociedad Hipotecaria Federal SNCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal mortgage society participated with AFICO in dialogue about alternative financing options including crowdfunding, fintech, and Fibras.
• GAYAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Foro Universitario de Vivienda 2018 discussion on crowdfunding and alternative financing.
• Bolsa Institucional de Valores (BIVA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstitutional stock exchange participated with AFICO in university housing forum discussing alternative financing including crowdfunding and fintech.
• 100 LadrilloscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReal estate crowdfunding platform participating in AFICO's #JuntosSumamos economic recovery campaign, offering investment opportunities to reactivate the economy.
• AfluentacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEquity crowdfunding platform participating in #JuntosSumamos campaign to promote crowdfunding investment during economic recovery.
• CumplocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCrowdfunding platform (debt/loans) participating in #JuntosSumamos campaign.
• FondifycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDonation-based crowdfunding platform participating in economic recovery campaign #JuntosSumamos.
• PlayBusinesscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEquity crowdfunding platform for entrepreneurs participating in #JuntosSumamos campaign.
• SnowballcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReal estate crowdfunding platform participating in economic recovery initiative.
• YotePrestocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorP2P lending platform participating in #JuntosSumamos economic recovery campaign.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Camara Argentine de Fintech: Argentine fintech chamber of commerce supporting fintech companies and engaging with local regulators. Comparable to AFICO as a Latin American fintech membership organization with a regulatory advocacy mandate, though broader than crowdfunding and focused on the Argentine market.
• Asociación de Fintech e Inversores de Brasil (ABFintechs): Brazilian fintech industry association representing fintech and alternative finance firms before regulators and policymakers. Comparable to AFICO in industry advocacy function but broader in scope and serving the larger Brazilian market.
• Asociación Fintech Perú: Peruvian fintech industry association that represents member platforms and engages with regulators in Lima. Comparable to AFICO as a Latin American fintech trade body, but broader in scope (covering all fintech verticals) and operating in Peru rather than Mexico.

Others

• CONDUSEF: Mexican financial consumer protection authority that has collaborated with AFICO as a speaker in AFICO's educational programs. Relevant peer in that it sets the regulatory perimeter AFICO members operate within, but it is a government regulator rather than a trade association.

Broad incumbents

• Fintech México (Asociación de Insurtech, Fintech y Bancos Digitales): Mexican industry association representing the broader fintech ecosystem (lending, payments, insurtech, crypto). Comparable to AFICO in regulatory advocacy role and Mexico-based operating geography, but operates across all fintech verticals rather than specializing in crowdfunding.

Direct peers

• UK Crowdfunding Association (UKCFA): British self-regulatory trade association for the crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending industry. Comparable to AFICO in scope: industry representation, member accreditation, codes of conduct, and regulatory engagement with the FCA, applied to a single country's crowdfunding sector.
• European Crowdfunding Association (Eurocrowd): Pan-European trade association representing crowdfunding and alternative finance platforms to EU regulators. Closely comparable to AFICO as a membership-based industry body that performs regulatory advocacy, sets industry standards, and accredits member platforms across multiple national jurisdictions.

Emerging players

• Crowdfunding Hub Africa: Africa-focused entity that promotes crowdfunding and alternative finance ecosystems across multiple African countries. Comparable to AFICO in its mission of ecosystem development and education around crowdfunding, though operating regionally across Africa rather than at the national level.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/afico

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AFICO