NEITEC has been recognised as the winner of the Startup Contest 2025 at MERGE Madrid & São Paulo. The award recognised Debita by Neitec, our DLT-powered infrastructure that enables frictionless and borderless private credit operations, reshaping how capital flows across emerging markets.
The jury included outstanding representatives from Google, Wayra by Telefónica, Cointelegraph Accelerator, AccVentures, Wise3 Ventures, Scytale Digital and Funders VC, among others.
The recognition
Debita was selected from a shortlist of 14 finalists drawn out of more than 200 international applications. The award was announced on the closing day of MERGE Madrid, an event that brought together over 3,000 attendees and 200 international speakers at the Palacio de Cibeles in Madrid — one of the most relevant gatherings of the year for blockchain, fintech and Web3 in Spain.
Why Debita
Debita is the on-chain infrastructure that allows SMEs and fintech lenders to access institutional capital through a standardised, transparent and auditable workflow. By tokenising private credit and connecting it to global investors via stablecoin-based settlement, Debita removes the operational friction that has historically kept emerging-market private credit out of reach for international allocators.
To date, the platform has supported more than $80M in placed deals, with a pipeline of over $150M for the coming year across markets including Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Argentina.
The opportunity
The global SME credit gap is estimated by the IFC at $5.7 trillion, with a $2.5 trillion shortfall concentrated in emerging economies. Less than 15% of SMEs in those markets reach formal credit through traditional channels. Debita's mission is to close that gap by combining institutional-grade origination with the programmability and reach of public Distributed Ledger Technology.
About Debita
Debita is a platform for issuing and managing private debt on-chain. It enables institutional-grade bond issuance through smart contracts, with end-to-end lifecycle automation and stablecoin-rail settlement that connects emerging-market issuers with international investors.
About Neitec
Neitec is a fintech designing and launching innovative solutions that leverage Distributed Ledger Technology to drive transformative efficiencies in financial markets — with a special focus on emerging countries. The team brings together more than thirty years of combined experience across investment and commercial banking, with leadership backgrounds at institutions such as Banco Santander and KPMG, supported by an advisory base from White & Case, BBVA and Banco Santander.