$100 Million Bet on Venezuelan Fintech Cashea Draws Global Investors

The Cashea app QR code displayed at a store in the Sambil Mall in Caracas.Lea en español

Cashea, Venezuela’s largest financial technology company, has raised $100 million across two financing rounds, as global investors bet it can grow in a market where lending has been constrained for years.

Cashea said it closed a $60 million Series B in June led by FinSight Ventures, with participation from Endeavor Catalyst, Plug and Play, a group of US endowments including Washington University in St. Louis and Latin American investors. It also raised $40 million in a Series A round in March led by Spice Expeditions, made up of $20 million in equity and $20 million in debt from Architect Capital.

The two financings signal that some global investors are willing to consider opportunities in Venezuela after decades in which political uncertainty, economic turmoil and sanctions shut the country out of international capital markets. The financings come months after the US-led removal of Nicolás Maduro ushered in a political transition in Venezuela earlier this year. Investors who traveled to Caracas said Cashea had become attractive to them before that shift because of its rapid growth and ongoing profitability, betting that demand for consumer credit in one of Latin America’s most underserved banking markets outweighed the country’s risks.

“The company had considerable interest from investors driven by their profitable growth and the quality of its credit portfolio since 2023, so the political environment was not the primary decision factor for us,” said Pavel Gurianov, principal at FinSight Ventures. “When I went to Caracas, the city was yellow because of Cashea ads — the company is powering the country’s commerce, allowing merchants to trade and shoppers to buy.”

Cashea was founded in 2022 to address a problem shared by millions of Venezuelans after years of economic crisis and government limits on lending sharply reduced access to credit.

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Although 76% of adults in Venezuela hold a financial account, according to World Bank data, many rely on digital financial services. Mobile money and digital wallets account for 34% of digital transactions in the country, while 18% of adults use mobile money as their only financial service.

Through Cashea’s app, shoppers can buy online or scan a QR code in stores, make an initial payment and repay the balance in equal biweekly installments without interest. The company says it has processed more than 110 million transactions, serves more than 10 million consumer accounts — equivalent to more than half of Venezuela’s adult population — and has built a network of 40,000 merchants nationwide.

“Venezuela was outside of the conversation around financial services in Latin America, but now that is changing,” co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Pedro Vallenilla said in an interview. “If there is anything that happened through hyperinflation it is that it forced Venezuelans to flock to digital services. So with the adoption there, we were ready to leapfrog.”

The deal comes as venture capital investment in Latin America remains well below the levels seen during the pandemic-era boom. Startups in the region raised $2.2 billion across 336 deals in the first half of 2026, down about 29% in deal value and 18% in deal count from the same period last year, according to PitchBook, as investors remained selective and concentrated capital in fewer companies.

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Even amid the slowdown, several startups have secured large financings this year. Mexico-based online used car dealer Kavak, Argentine fintech Ualá and Mexican Plata have collectively raised about $900 million this year, while ARQ, Humand and Pomelo each closed deals of over $50 million.

But the Cashea deal is a vote of confidence in Venezuela, where many foreign investors still remain on the sidelines. For Cashea, the capital will fund the expansion of lending products and support merchants and consumers at a moment when the country is rebuilding after two earthquakes hit north-central Venezuela last month, flattening buildings and disrupting power and water systems.

“This comes at a moment where we just went through the worst natural disaster our country has ever seen,” Vallenilla said. “Now more than ever, we are making a compromise to invest 100% of our proceeds from this round to rebuilding Venezuela for Venezuelans.”