OCN Raises $86 Million to Expand Gig Worker Platform

OCN, a gig worker-focused FinTech formerly called OneCarNow, raised $86 million in equity and debt in a Series A funding round.

The firm, based in Mexico, will use the new funding to fuel its expansion across the Americas and globally, OCN said in a Monday (July 15) press release emailed to PYMNTS.

“When we founded OCN, we always had a vision of helping thousands of gig workers earn more and improve their lives,” OCN CEO and co-founder Mairon Sandoval said in the release. “With our new financing, we can continue to improve our technology and operational capacity to reach more gig economy workers in Latin America as well as the United States.”

OCN offers car rental models for gig workers in 22 Mexican states and in South Florida, and has served 25,000 customers, Bloomberg reported Monday. It plans to expand in both Mexico and the United States and to enter Brazil in 2025.

Anticipating rapid expansion, OCN has expanded its leadership team to include general managers for Mexico and the U.S., a chief risk officer, a chief technology officer, a chief operating officer and a chief financial officer, according to the company’s press release.

OCN uses technology to underwrite gig worker customers who are often excluded from or overlooked by the formal financial systems in the Americas, the release said.

More than 4 million gig economy entrepreneurs serving ride-hailing and delivery platforms across the Americas face challenges in accessing financing, per the release.

The lead investors for the equity element of OCN’s latest funding round include Caravela Capital in Brazil and Collide Capital and Great North Ventures in the U.S. The debt element is provided by New York-based i80, according to the release.

FinTech firms, platforms and smaller banks are working to help gig workers meet the challenges of achieving financial security in a flexible work environment and dealing with complicated tax and benefit systems, PYMNTS reported in March.

In February, investment platform Robinhood said it was expanding its retirement offering to include gig workers, offering “a path to retirement savings for people who don’t have access to traditional retirement accounts or corporate matching programs.”