Ant International has made a strategic investment in R2, a leading embedded lending infrastructure provider in Latin America, to enhance credit access for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across a region facing a US$1 trillion credit gap. The partnership combines Ant International’s global expertise in inclusive financing and AI-driven risk management with R2’s end-to-end lending infrastructure and deep local market knowledge. Through R2’s API-based, white-labeled platform, digital ecosystems such as payment processors, e-commerce platforms, and marketplaces can seamlessly extend financing to merchants at the point of need.
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“Partnering with Ant International is a defining step in R2’s journey,” said Roger Larach, Co-Founder and CEO of R2, adding that the collaboration will help deliver inclusive credit at scale by merging AI-powered underwriting and world-class risk tools. Quan Yu, General Manager of Global Credit Services at Ant International, noted that both companies share a vision of empowering SMEs—the backbone of LATAM’s economy—through technology-driven financial inclusion. Operating in Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Brazil, R2 has already benefitted over 100,000 SMEs, and this partnership aims to accelerate growth and expand access to affordable capital across the region.
