Ant International has announced a strategic investment in R2, a Latin America native embedded lending infrastructure company, to expand access to financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the region.
The Singapore-based digital payments giant said the investment combines primary capital injection with a strategic collaboration aimed at driving inclusive growth through advanced digital and AI-powered credit solutions.
R2, founded in 2020, will continue operating independently under its current management while leveraging Ant International’s risk management and AI underwriting tools to improve credit accessibility and lower borrowing costs for underserved SMEs.
Operating in Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Brazil, R2 has built a network of platform partnerships with inDrive, Uber Eats, Rappi, Haulmer, and PayU, supporting over 100,000 SMEs to date. The firm’s API-based infrastructure allows digital platforms to seamlessly embed financing options within their own systems, from e-commerce to payments.
Ant International’s Global Credit Services unit, which launched working capital solutions in Brazil earlier this year, will complement R2’s local expertise and regulatory know-how. Together, the companies aim to enhance financial inclusion in a region where only 13% of SME credit demand is currently met by traditional banks and fintechs.
Latin America’s fintech sector remains one of the fastest-growing globally, driven by digital adoption, inflationary pressures, and vast untapped credit demand. The SME credit gap alone exceeds $1 trillion, creating fertile ground for embedded lending and alternative finance.
Asian fintechs, including Ant International, Tencent’s WeBank, and Grab Financial, are increasingly looking westward, bringing expertise in mobile payments and AI-driven credit scoring. Ant’s entry via R2 mirrors this trend: rather than competing head-on, Asian firms are partnering with local platforms to adapt proven models from Asia’s digital ecosystems to Latin America’s fragmented, underbanked markets.
If successful, this collaboration could become a blueprint for how cross-regional fintech partnerships unlock inclusive growth in emerging economies.
