Prestadero Sees Rising Female Loan Participation in Mexico

Prestadero, a peer-to-peer lending institution (IFC) and one of the leading peer-to-peer lending platforms in Mexico, reported a sustained increase in the participation of women among loan applicants over the past five years.

According to data from Prestadero, the percentage of loans granted to women increased from 22% five years ago to more than 32% during 2025. The most significant growth was observed between 2023 and 2024, when female participation increased from 24 to 31 percent.

Gerardo Obregón, founder and CEO of Prestadero, explained that this advance is relevant because the platform’s evaluation models do not consider demographic variables such as gender, ethnic origin, or personal preferences to determine credit approval or the assigned interest rate.

Prestadero reports growing participation of women in loan applications, reflecting increasing female economic activity and entrepreneurship in Mexico

“One of the benefits of the crowdfunding model is that it evaluates people based on their financial profile, not demographic characteristics. Historically, some segments, such as freelancers or entrepreneurs, have faced greater barriers to accessing traditional credit due to the nature of their income or because they have less robust financial histories. In our case, the analysis focuses on repayment capacity and financial behavior, regardless of whether the person is a man or a woman,” Obregón noted.

Regarding the purpose of the loans requested by women, the main category is debt consolidation, accounting for 39.5% of applications. This is followed by business financing, at 19.42%, and then household loans, at 14.27%.

The platform Prestadero highlighted that the proportion of applications intended for businesses is higher among women than among men, with 15% and the average rising to 17.55%, which could reflect a growing female participation in entrepreneurial and income-generating activities.

“We are seeing a trend of more and more women actively participating in the economy, whether by entering the workforce or developing their own projects. This translates into a greater demand for financing to boost businesses, strengthen productive activities, or take advantage of economic opportunities,” the executive commented.

The growth of this segment is occurring within a context where crowdfunding platforms continue to expand their operations. According to the Bank of Mexico, debt-focused crowdfunding institutions maintained a growth trajectory in financing granted through the end of the third quarter of 2025.

However, the central bank warned that some platforms continue to experience high levels of loan defaults, with some exceeding 30% of their loan portfolio. Overall, the weighted average default rate by loan amount stood at 8.4%.

Investors on Prestadero

Regarding investors who finance loans on the platform, Prestadero indicated that approximately 21% are women. However, the company does not identify a significant preference for investing in applications from any particular gender.

“What we’ve observed is that investors tend to focus primarily on expected returns and loan characteristics. We haven’t identified a significant trend of investors seeking to finance exclusively men or exclusively women; the investment decision is much more related to the risk profile and potential return of each application,” the CEO of Prestadero explained.

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First published in EL ECONOMISTA. A third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

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