David Vélez, co-founder of Brazil-based NuBank—the world’s largest standalone digital bank—has sold shares in its holding company worth $191 million, the proceeds of which are expected to fund the VélezReyes+ foundation, co-founded with his wife, Mariel Reyes, Bloomberg reports.

The sale represents approximately 3 percent of Vélez’s share in the bank, where he has a 75 percent stake. Vélez and Reyes, born in Colombia and Peru, respectively, joined the Giving Pledge in 2021. Last year, the couple established the foundation, which aims to address inequality in Latin America by identifying, supporting, and scaling tech-enabled initiatives that advance education and economic opportunity for vulnerable and disadvantaged communities across the region.

Although Vélez did not specify the portion of the sale being directed to the foundation, in an interview with Bloomberg he noted, “I’m taking 3 percent of the chips off the table to start increasing in investing in the other side of the big mission that is driving us today. It’s about finding a way to give back to society over the next decades that wealth that, luckily, we’ve been able to create in the building of Nubank. How can we help solve one of the most complex problems in the region, which is unequal access to opportunities?”

(Photo credit: Giving Pledge)