Saison International

What Saison International does

Saison International is the global business arm of Credit Saison, a Japanese financial services company established in 1951. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Singapore, Saison International operates a digitalised and localised financial services platform across seven countries: Singapore, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, Thailand, and Vietnam. The company employs 6,000+ people globally, including country CEOs and country managers for each operating market, and operates through wholly-owned subsidiaries including Credit Saison India, Credit Saison Brazil, Credit Saison Mexico, Credit Saison Indonesia Finance, Saison Investment Management (SIMPL), Saison Capital, and Aumnee.

The business is organised into two primary arms under the SI Plus brand. The lending arm provides debt financing through funds, wholesale lending, co-lending, and direct-to-market models, alongside the SI Plus Open platform. The investment arm, anchored by Saison Capital, makes direct startup investments at pre-seed to Series B stages and runs a fund-of-fund mandate to early-stage VC funds, with a geographic focus on India, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. As of March 2024, the company had issued 219,513 business credit cards to business partners.

The company targets MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) and fintech founders in emerging markets, addressing financial exclusion and limited access to capital. Revenue is generated through spreads and fees on lending activity (subscription-style recurring revenue) and transaction-level returns on equity investments. The business is supported by parent Credit Saison's $27B balance sheet. There is no public revenue disclosure, no pricing transparency, and no specific technology stack or proprietary AI/ML capabilities documented.

Name

Saison International

Legal name

Saison International

Website

https://saison-international.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Saison International is the global business arm of Credit Saison, providing digitalised lending and equity investments to MSMEs and fintech founders across India, Southeast Asia, and Latin America through wholly-owned subsidiaries in seven countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Emerging Market Lending & Investment

NAICS

Credit Intermediation and Related Activities (522)

SIC

Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159), Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153), Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Independent Venture Debt Funds / Platforms (FSANAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Middle-Market Lending (FSANADAI), Private Sector & Blended Finance Arms (IFC-type) (BPADACAJ)

Keywords

• Emerging market lending
• Venture capital investments
• MSME financing
• Financial inclusion services
• Corporate venture capital

Headquarters

HQ city

Singapore

HQ country

Singapore

HQ region

Asia

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Lending Business: Debt financing through funds, wholesale lending, co-lending, and direct-to-market lending models. Core business unit providing scaled lending solutions.
2. Investment Business: Direct startup investments at pre-seed to Series B stage, and fund-of-fund mandate to early-stage VC funds, focusing on India, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Saison International provides debt financing through funds, wholesale lending, co-lending, and direct-to-market lending models, alongside equity investments via direct startup funding at pre-seed to Series B stages and fund-of-fund mandates to early-stage VC funds. The company channels capital to MSMEs, fintech founders, and businesses across emerging markets in India, Southeast Asia, and Latin America through its SI Plus and SI Plus Open brands.

Product overview

Saison International operates as a global financial services company organized into two primary business arms: SI Plus for lending (debt financing via funds, wholesale lending, co-lending, and direct-to-market models) and SI Plus for investment (equity investments through direct startup funding and fund-of-fund mandates). Supporting these core operations are Saison Capital (corporate venture capital for equity investments in India, Southeast Asia, and Latin America) and Saison Investment Management (SIMPL) for debt investment management. The company also includes subsidiary Aumnee. The portfolio is digitally-enabled and localised for emerging markets including India, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SI Plus: Lending and investment business offering under Saison International.
• SI Plus Open

Quantifiable outcome

• 219,513 business credit cards issued to business partners as of March 2024
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• International Finance Corporation (IFC): World Bank's private sector arm providing debt and equity to emerging market businesses. Most direct comparable for blended finance / private sector development approach across emerging markets with both lending and investment capabilities.
• MUFG (Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group): Major Japanese financial group with extensive international operations across Asia and the Americas. Comparable as a large Japanese-headquartered financial institution pursuing emerging market expansion with lending and investment products.
• Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group: Japanese banking group with growing emerging market presence across Asia and Latin America. Comparable Japanese financial institution executing international expansion strategy across similar geographies.
• British International Investment (BII): UK development finance institution investing debt and equity across emerging markets in Asia and Africa. Comparable development-finance mandate and dual debt/equity approach to Saison International.

Direct peers

• Omidyar Network: Impact investment firm providing both debt and equity to fintech and financial inclusion businesses in emerging markets. Directly comparable mission and approach to Saison International's MSME and fintech founder focus.
• Patamar Capital: Southeast Asia-focused impact investment firm backing MSMEs and financial inclusion ventures. Comparable emerging-market financial inclusion thesis and VC-style direct investments in the same geographies.
• 500 Global: Early-stage VC firm with significant emerging market presence in Southeast Asia and Latin America, including fund-of-fund activity. Comparable pre-seed to Series B fintech investment thesis across Saison International's target markets.

Emerging players

• Lendable: Asset manager providing debt financing to fintechs serving emerging market MSMEs. Directly comparable MSME fintech lending thesis with structured debt products, though narrower geographic focus.
• Accial: Emerging market fintech lending platform providing working capital to MSMEs in Latin America, India, and Southeast Asia. Comparable target customer (underserved MSMEs) and geographic markets.
• Caffeinated Capital: Early-stage VC firm focused on fintech in emerging markets including India, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. Directly comparable equity investment thesis for fintech founders in the same geographies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/saison-international

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Saison International