Kesh raises R$550M to scale its "interest cashback" lending model in Brazil
What's the deal? Brazilian fintech KeshDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised R$550 million (about $107.7 million) in an early-stage round led by Grupo LesteDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the alternative investments platform founded by Emmanuel Hermann. BR AngelsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and strategic partners from Across CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → also took part.
The round combined equity with funding for the company's FIDC receivables fund. The valuation was not disclosed.
What's the endgame? Operating since April 2025, Kesh offers short-term credit to workers and returns the interest as "cashback" — credits that can be spent with more than 150 commercial partners, including Bob's, Vivo, TIM, Claro, Uber, Deezer, and NetshoesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
The model works as a salary advance: the employee takes the credit, pays interest, and receives that amount back as spending power in categories such as food, transport, and health. Kesh earns commissions from partner companies and from managing their payroll.
"We identified that it wasn't possible to significantly reduce the cost of money. So we thought: what if we compensated 100% of the interest?" said founder and chief executive officer Marcelo Ramos.
Who's it for? The product targets lower-income workers who have exhausted other credit options. About 80% of borrowers earn up to five minimum wages, and more than a third of the active base — currently 40,000 users — uses it monthly to manage cash needs.
Kesh has extended more than R$30 million in credit so far, with an average ticket of R$650. The new capital will fund market expansion, product distribution, and a payroll management system, as it chases a target of 1 million users within three years.
Why now? The round lands as Brazilian households carry high debt and fintechs face tighter regulation. Ramos said the raise served as an "institutional stamp" for Kesh's unorthodox thesis, bringing known market names onto the cap table.
"Our biggest challenge today is credibility," he said. "The market is going through a complicated moment for fintechs, so we needed to show that we have financial backing and a solid operation to grow."
The signal: Kesh is betting that returning interest as consumer credit can serve borrowers priced out of conventional lending — a wager that only holds up if partner commissions and payroll fees cover the cost of capital at scale.
Read more: NeoFeed
Image credit: pr_ip
