BlueTape, which offers buy now, pay later (BNPL) services to the construction industry, has raised $55m in a mix of debt and equity.
The FinTech company raised $50m in debt, which was led by Arcadia Funds, and a $5m seed round led by Chicago Ventures. Other investors to the round include construction industry executives, real estate developers and Plug and Play Ventures.
This capital will provide BlueTap with the ability to extend its BNPL lending capabilities, hire more staff and develop new products to help construction address the housing and infrastructure crisis.
BlueTape claims that the US construction industry market size is over $1.3trn and is made up of over three million small and medium-sized businesses. It added that the industry is lagging behind others, in terms of technology adoption, and has been neglected by traditional financial institutions.
US-based BlueTape offers BNPL financing options with easy-to-use accounts receivable and invoice management tools. Firms can use the platform to buy building materials at any supplier and pay back over time.
The company has also established a community of construction industry dealers and suppliers that offer BlueTape credit instantly to their trade customers. This allows the construction suppliers to lower their risk and improve their cash flow and customer experience.
Arcadia Funds managing director and CEO Andrew Hallowell said, “We are excited to partner with BlueTape to provide affordable financing on demand for this industry. With the current economic uncertainty, BlueTape is needed more than ever to help construction businesses of all sizes operate successfully and thrive.
“Arcadia is constantly on the lookout for these opportunities, having built a powerful portfolio over the past several years by helping similar agile and innovative lenders like BlueTape make lives better with credit.”
There are a number of FinTech companies aimed at the construction industry. Last month, Adaptive, a startup on a mission to save construction teams time and money, raised $7.25m in a seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).
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