The Colombia-founded company has processed more than 100 million transactions and works with nearly 100 retailers and marketplaces

Instacart, a US grocery technology company serving more than 2,200 retail banners and nearly 100,000 stores, announced the acquisition of Instaleap, a Colombia-founded fulfillment and retail technology platform operating in nearly 30 countries, in a deal whose financial terms were not disclosed.

The transaction represents one of Instacart’s most significant international moves since going public in 2023 and strengthens its expansion outside North America, particularly in Latin America, Europe and the Middle East.

Instacart, which trades on Nasdaq under the ticker CART, is seeking to expand its enterprise technology platform focused on omnichannel commerce and the digital transformation of supermarkets and retailers.

“We see a meaningful opportunity to expand internationally through an enterprise-led strategy that empowers retailers across the globe to meet the evolving omnichannel needs of their customers,” Ryan Hamburger, chief commercial officer at Instacart, said in the company’s statement.

Global expansion driven by Latin American technology

Instaleap develops software solutions for supermarkets, pharmacies and consumer goods retailers, enabling them to manage orders, logistics, picking operations and customer experience across digital channels.

The company has processed more than 100 million transactions and maintains commercial relationships with nearly 100 retailers and marketplaces outside North America, including Cencosud, Éxito, Makro, Continente, Jerónimo Martins (owners of Tiendas Ara), Lulu, and SPAR.

The acquisition also allows Instacart to accelerate its presence in regions where it previously had limited operations. The company had already begun deploying products such as Storefront Pro and its AI-powered Caper Carts in Europe and Australia but lacked a consolidated network in Latin America and the Middle East.

Instaleap to continue operating as subsidiary

According to the companies, Instaleap will initially continue operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of Instacart to ensure continuity for existing customers during the integration process.

“We’ve built our platform with a deep focus on the unique needs of grocery retailers across diverse international markets. Joining Instacart enables us to scale our impact with the support of a trusted partner that shares our commitment to retailer success,” said Antonio dos Santos Nunes, CEO and co-founder of Instaleap.

The company was founded in Colombia in 2019 by Portuguese entrepreneurs Antonio dos Santos Nunes and Margarida Freitas, the company’s current COO. Both joined the global entrepreneurship network Endeavor in 2025.

The companies did not disclose whether Instaleap’s current management team will remain in place after the transition period.

E-commerce growth fuels regional expansion

The announcement comes amid sustained growth in e-commerce across Latin America, particularly in Colombia.

According to figures cited in the statements, Colombian e-commerce grew 19.9% in 2025, reaching $684.6 million USD transactions, while the regional online grocery market surpassed $3.62 billion USD last year.

Instacart reported adjusted EBITDA of $1.09 billion USD in 2025, representing 23% year-over-year growth, along with 312 million processed orders.

With the acquisition, the company expects to gradually extend additional solutions to Instaleap’s clients, including e-commerce services, retail media, artificial intelligence and in-store technology.

Fitch Ratings has revised the national long-term rating outlook for Colombian payroll (libranzas) lender Ban100 to Positive from Stable. The ratings agency also affirmed the bank’s long- and short-term national scale ratings at ‘AA-(col)’ and ‘F1+(col)’, respectively.

The revision reflects a sustained improvement in operating profitability and asset quality metrics. According to the ratings agency, the move is supported by a business model focused on payroll loan (libranza) products, specifically targeting the pensioner segment in Colombia.

“Libranzas” is a form of payroll lending that works via payroll deduction, ensuring that the lender gets paid before discretionary spending.

As of the close of 2025, Ban100 reported a non-performing loan (NPL) ratio (over 30 days) of 1.8%, a decrease from the 2.4% recorded in 2024. This figure remains below the financial system average of 3.8%. Fitch attributed this performance to the bank’s niche specialization and controlled operational structure across more than 1,000 municipalities.

Financial data indicates that the bank’s operating profit to risk-weighted assets ratio rose to 2.12% at the end of 2025, representing a 3.8-fold increase compared to 2024. The recovery in profitability was driven by lower provision requirements, higher debt recoveries, and efficient management of administrative expenses.

The bank’s balance sheet showed total assets of $2.8 trillion COP at the end of 2025. Funding remains diversified, with deposits reaching $2.3 trillion COP and securitization operations totaling $390,000 million COP during the same period. Total loan disbursements for the year exceeded $1.096 trillion COP.

Héctor Chaves, president of Ban100, stated that the outlook upgrade confirms the discipline of the bank’s growth strategy during a challenging period for the Colombian financial sector. The institution continues to focus on providing formal credit access to the base of the population and retired citizens.

The ‘AA-(col)’ rating indicates a very low expectation of default risk relative to other issuers or obligations in the same country. Ban100, which has operated for 13 years, maintains its headquarters in Bogotá and provides savings and investment products alongside its core lending business.

Photo from Linkedin account of Ban100

Fitch Ratings has revised the national long-term rating outlook for Colombian payroll (libranzas) lender Ban100 to Positive from Stable. The ratings agency also affirmed the bank’s long- and short-term national scale ratings at ‘AA-(col)’ and ‘F1+(col)’, respectively.

The revision reflects a sustained improvement in operating profitability and asset quality metrics. According to the ratings agency, the move is supported by a business model focused on payroll loan (libranza) products, specifically targeting the pensioner segment in Colombia.

As of the close of 2025, Ban100 reported a non-performing loan (NPL) ratio (over 30 days) of 1.8%, a decrease from the 2.4% recorded in 2024. This figure remains below the financial system average of 3.8%. Fitch attributed this performance to the bank’s niche specialization and controlled operational structure across more than 1,000 municipalities.

Financial data indicates that the bank’s operating profit to risk-weighted assets ratio rose to 2.12% at the end of 2025, representing a 3.8-fold increase compared to 2024. The recovery in profitability was driven by lower provision requirements, higher debt recoveries, and efficient management of administrative expenses.

The bank’s balance sheet showed total assets of $2.8 trillion COP at the end of 2025. Funding remains diversified, with deposits reaching $2.3 trillion COP and securitization operations totaling $390,000 million COP during the same period. Total loan disbursements for the year exceeded $1.096 trillion COP.

Héctor Chaves, president of Ban100, stated that the outlook upgrade confirms the discipline of the bank’s growth strategy during a challenging period for the Colombian financial sector. The institution continues to focus on providing formal credit access to the base of the population and retired citizens.

The ‘AA-(col)’ rating indicates a very low expectation of default risk relative to other issuers or obligations in the same country. Ban100, which has operated for 13 years, maintains its headquarters in Bogotá and provides savings and investment products alongside its core lending business.

Photo from Linkedin account of Ban100

The consolidation of the Colombian fiduciary market has reached a significant milestone following the integration of four trust companies under the Aval Fiduciaria platform. According to research from Fitch Ratings (NYSE: FIC), this strategic move by Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. (NYSE: AVAL, BVC: PFAVAL) has centralized the operations of Fiduciaria Bogotá, Fiduciaria de Occidente, and Fiduciaria Popular into a single entity. This restructuring is expected to increase the scale, pricing power, and product flexibility of the organization.