Supply Finance, which provides trade finance products to SMEs across Europe, has closed a €4m Series A investment round.
Finch Capital, a European and Asian FinTech-focused VC, and Fenway Summer, a US-based advisory and venture investment firm, took part in the round, along with other European and American investors.
The capital will be used to fund Supply’s expansion into at least three European markets, starting with Denmark. Following the Series A round, Supply completed its inaugural partnership through a €1m investment in Omniveta, a leading Danish factoring business.
Omniveta has been providing invoice financing services to Danish SMEs for over three years. The Copenhagen-based business will expand its capital base and upgrade its technology through the partnership. Supply assisted Omniveta in its recent closing of a €7.5m credit facility from Advance Global Capital, the London-based fund manager. This, coupled with the equity investment from Supply, will enable Omniveta to expand its business in 2018 and beyond.
Brian Norton, Supply’s CEO, said: “Europe’s small businesses are too often denied the financial tools enjoyed by large companies, a disadvantage resulting in slower growth. We founded Supply to tip the scales back to even for SMEs. Through amazing technology and world-class capital markets expertise, we’re giving the little guys the same financing tools as their larger competitors.â€
Supply Finance was founded in 2017 by Brian Norton and Jay Verjee. Norton was previously the co-founder and CEO of Future Finance, a European student lending business, which has raised nearly €200m and funded the education of thousands of European students. Verjee is a serial entrepreneur, who has built three SME businesses in the last three years.
The company provides trade finance products to SMEs across Europe through a growing network of partner brands. Supply’s partners gain access to increased finance facilities together with enhanced technology to better support their customers and grow their businesses.
It claims its proprietary technology enables a seamless, online trade finance experience for its SME customers. Using Supply’s tech systems, the company’s partners can significantly improve customer service, better manage risk, and expand into new products.
Radboud Vlaar, partner at Finch Capital, added: “We know the trade finance space for SMEs very well having tracked it over numerous years. SME are an important sector in the market and today the availability of trade finance to small businesses is approximately 30% less than it was 10 years ago. Supply is addressing a real need experienced by growing financing companies serving SMEs and will help them accelerate their growth.â€
Finch Capital has previously backed Zopa, a leading peer-to-peer lending platform, and Digital Insurance Group, a European InsurTech platform. Fenway Summer invests in highly regulated industries like financial services. The firm previously backed Norton at Future Finance, and has been an early investor and advisor at firms like Circle, the Dublin-based blockchain and social payments firm, and Prosper, a San Francisco-based marketplace lender.
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