Ant International and R2 aim to increase LATAM SME credit access

The Latin American (LATAM) economy is powered by its micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which comprise 99.5% of all businesses and account for 60% of the employed population in the region. Yet, this vital engine of growth is stifled by a massive, persistent credit shortage, with the funding gap for SMEs estimated to exceed a staggering US$1 trillion. Only about 13% of the demand for credit from small businesses in LATAM is currently met by traditional financial institutions and fintechs.

This is the challenging landscape that the strategic investment by Ant International in R2, a leading LATAM embedded-lending infrastructure company, is poised to transform. This partnership is not merely a financial transaction; it represents a powerful fusion of technology and local expertise designed to deliver “inclusive credit at scale”.

The core insight of this partnership is the realization that to solve the credit gap, financing must be frictionless and data-driven.

R2 tackles the distribution challenge head-on. The company’s API-based, white-labeled platform enables digital partners—such as payment processors, point-of-sale (POS) systems, marketplaces, and e-commerce platforms—to offer financing solutions directly to their merchants.

This “embedded lending” model provides two critical advantages:

1. Seamless Access: Merchants can access capital through the digital platforms they already use every day, bypassing the complex, paperwork-heavy processes of traditional banks.
2. Revenue-Based Repayment: R2 pioneered a revenue-based financing model, which aligns repayments with a merchant’s actual sales performance, reducing friction and risk. R2 currently operates in five key LATAM markets: Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Brazil, and has already supported over 100,000 SMEs.

While R2 provides the distribution channel, Ant International brings the risk management sophistication to make the lending sustainable and affordable. Ant International, the operator of Alipay+, contributes its advanced risk capabilities, including its Global Credit Engine.

This system leverages AI-driven underwriting, alternative data modeling, and advanced algorithms to enhance the efficiency, accuracy, and speed of credit decisions. By utilizing a comprehensive view of a merchant’s digital footprint (transaction data from their platforms), the AI can more precisely and efficiently assess credit eligibility, which in turn is expected to lower the cost of credit for SMEs.

This partnership is a blueprint for the future of financial inclusion, characterized by a TechFin approach—technology driving financial services, rather than finance merely adopting new tech.

Traditional lending is constrained by a lack of collateral and formal credit history, which is common among small businesses. By using platform-generated data (e.g., sales history from Uber Eats or Rappi) as the basis for underwriting, Ant and R2 are effectively turning operational data into creditworthiness. This is a crucial step in formalizing and empowering the millions of micro and small businesses that are currently underserved.

The embedded approach solves a major point of friction. Reports indicate that small businesses overwhelmingly prefer this model, with one study showing that 69% of those who have used embedded lending are highly likely to switch to a payment provider that offers it. By integrating lending into the existing software stack, the partnership transforms a burdensome application process into a nearly instant, seamless experience.

The combined offering of R2’s embedded agility and Ant International’s proven, AI-powered risk capabilities is a strategic move that acknowledges the unique challenges and opportunities of the LATAM market. It is a powerful example of how global technology leaders are collaborating with local experts to build practical financing solutions that can finally unlock the full economic potential of the region’s small business backbone.