Santander InnoVentures, the fintech venture capital arm of Spanish bank Santander Group, made an undisclosed investment in Brazilian fintech Creditas.
The investment in Creditas, a digital online lending platform, marks Santander’s first venture into the Brazilian fintech landscape.
While terms of the investment were not disclosed, Creditas announced a $5 million increase to its previously announced Series-C funding round (which was $55 million with the increase). That increase was attributed to the addition of Santander InnoVentures, as well as Amadeus Capital Partners, as investors.
The Series C round was led by Sweden-based Vostok Emerging Finance (VEF), and included Kaszek Ventures, Quona Capital, QED Investors, International Finance Corporation, and Naspers Fintech.
In a statement today, Manuel Silva, partner and head of investment at Santander InnoVentures, said:
Brazil is a core market for Santander, and we are excited to make our first investment in such a thriving ecosystem. We are strong believers in Brazilian fintech innovation and see Sergio Furio, Creditas’ founder and CEO, a great example of the new generation of entrepreneurs in Brazil who are redefining local financial services. We are very happy to join him and his world-class investors in shaping Creditas’ success.
Based in San Paulo, Brazil, Creditas was launched in 2012. It is a digital-first secured lending platform that offers Brazilians home and auto secured loans at more affordable rates.