Colombian Consumer Lender ADDI Raises $15 Million In VC Round

ADDI, a Bogota-based provider of point of sale (POS) consumer financing for Latin America, today announced the close of an equity financing of $15 million. The round was led by Quona Capital, a venture firm focused on fintech in emerging markets, alongside existing investors Andreessen Horowitz and Monashees, and new investors S7 Ventures, Foundation Capital and DST partner Tom Stafford. The new funding will be used to grow ADDI’s business in Colombia and to expand to new Latin American markets.

ADDI aims to power commerce and make point-of-sale financing accessible to every Latin American merchant and consumer. The company’s POS platform presents loans to consumers as installment plans at checkout, with a clear schedule of payments due over time that can be approved in less than 10 minutes, while existing credit options might take hours or several visits to the store. ADDI helps make higher ticket products and services accessible for consumers who today have limited financing options. For merchants, both offline and online, ADDI’s POS financing options free up capital and improve sales by offering payment options at checkout.

Above: ADDI co-founders Santiago Suarez, Daniel Vallejo, and Elmer Ortega

“In Colombia and Latin America, most consumers lack access to convenient and affordable credit products, if they can access financing options at all,” said ADDI co-founder and CEO Santiago Suarez. “Only a small percentage of Latin American consumers have credit cards, and those who do pay very high effective interest rates, tend to reserve balances for emergencies, and have very low credit limits. We want to empower underserved consumers to afford their life’s goals by giving them fair and affordable financing at the point of sale.”

“We believe ADDI has the right strategy, technology platform, and team to build a category-leading company in Colombia and the rest of Latin America,” said Quona Capital co-founder and partner Jonathan Whittle. “In this time of COVID, it’s particularly critical for merchants to offer consumers convenient payment options. ADDI’s solution benefits underserved consumers with the payment options they need, while also freeing up capital and improving sales for merchants.”

ADDI was established in Bogota in 2018 by co-founders Santiago Suarez, Daniel Vallejo, and Elmer Ortega. Suarez, who serves as the company’s CEO, ran the New Product Development & Emerging Tech group at JPMorgan Chase, and was responsible for strategy and corporate development at LendingClub. Suarez also advised fintechs through Y Combinator before returning to Colombia to start ADDI. Vallejo, ADDI’s CFO, was formerly with McKinsey & Company focused on consumer banking, and also worked for a private equity fund focused on Latin America. Ortega, the CPO for ADDI, is the former Risk & Technology Manager for TFG, a leading Colombian trading firm.