The Fintech Playbook for Latin America

June 18, 2026

1:08

What if Latin America's biggest fintech breakthrough isn’t just about payments, but about creating a full-blown ecosystem? Santiago Suárez, CEO of Addi, shares how their platform started with buy now, pay later — then expanded into payments, commerce, logistics, and banking. According to Angela Strange and Gabriel Vásquez from a16z, Suárez highlights that building in Latin America means navigating multiple market cycles and investing in solid tech infrastructure. But here’s the thing — Suárez believes financial inclusion isn’t just nice to have; it’s the engine of economic growth. Addi’s journey shows that enduring companies outside Silicon Valley thrive by balancing product strategy, AI, and organizational design. As content+a16zpodcast@a16z.com points out, these lessons aren’t just about Latin America — they’re a blueprint for any region aiming for fintech resilience. So, the real question isn’t whether these ecosystems will grow, but who will lead the charge before it’s too late.

Angela Strange and Gabriel Vásquez speak with Addi founder and CEO Santiago Suárez about building one of Latin America's largest financial platforms.

What began as a buy now, pay later product has evolved into a broader ecosystem spanning payments, commerce, logistics, and now banking. Serving millions of consumers and tens of thousands of merchants, Addi sits at the intersection of financial services and commerce in Colombia.

The conversation covers building in Latin America, lessons from scaling through multiple market cycles, the importance of technology infrastructure, and why Suárez believes financial inclusion and economic growth are deeply connected. They also discuss AI, organizational design, product strategy, and what it takes to build enduring companies outside Silicon Valley.

Resources:

Follow Santiago Suárez on X: https://x.com/SantiaSua

Follow Angela Strange on X: https://x.com/astrange

Follow Gabriel Vásquez on X: https://x.com/GEVS94

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Audio Transcript