The fundraising by Kueski comprised both equity and debt.

Kueski is one of the largest buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) and digital lenders in Latin America. It announced December 2 its close of a $202 million Series C debt and equity round. The equity round was led by StepStone Group and the debt financing was led by Victory Park Capital. (Kueski)

Other investors participating in the funding included OnePrime Capital, and Glisco Partners, as well as Altos Ventures, Cometa, Richmond Global Ventures, Cathay Innovation, Rise Capital, and Angel Ventures Mexico.

Kueski seeks to address the huge problem of financial inclusion in Mexico – the country has the fifth highest rate of unbanked citizens globally, and nearly 90% of retail transactions are made with cash. “Our goal is to connect the whole Mexican retail economy without requiring consumers to have a bank account, a credit card, or credit history,” said Adalberto Flores, founder and CEO. The company applies artificial intelligence and big data to enhance its offerings of financial products and services.

Kueski’s model has proven highly successful. Its Kueski Pay BNPL product clocked growth of 210X year-over-year (YoY) growth in Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) between November 2020 and November 2021, and since inception, customers have availed of more than 5 million of these loans.

“By using Kueski Pay, consumers can defer the costs of payment over time without expensive credit cards or bank loans, and merchants can tap into a whole new market and boost their sales,” added Flores.

The fintech also offers the Kueski Cash (personal loans), and Kueski Up (salary advances) products.

Use of funds

Kueski will use the money to further grow its BNPL market in Mexico and add more products for Mexican consumers.

The startup also intends to launch a mobile app to enable customers to view their profile, manage payments and browse products in partner stores.

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