London FinTech startup Iwoca raises $20m series B funding from Commerzbank and Acton Capital
London FinTech startup Iwoca has landed a new round of funding including investment from Commerzbank.
The $20m series B round from the German bank's venture capital arm CommerzVentures, Acton Capital Partners, the Munich-based private equity and VC firm, Redline Capital and other existing investors, will accelerate the lending platform's growth across Europe.
“We're aiming to offer a flexible finance option to all of Europe's 20m small businesses," said Iwoca co-founder and chief executive Christophe Rieche.
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"Raising investment from Acton, CommerzVentures and our existing investors is a vote of confidence in Iwoca and a sign of the growing interest not only of financial investors but also of leading banks in alternative FinTech lenders. This will be crucial to increasing access to credit and supporting growth among European small and medium enterprises.”
Iwoca is one of several UK FinTech companies which joined the Prime Minister on his trade mission to Asia this week. David Cameron today backed a FinTech manifesto which sets out plans to make the nation a world leader in FinTech.
The four-year-old startup operates in the UK, Germany, Spain and Poland and increased its lending to small businesses by more than 250 per cent year-on-year in the alternative financing market which is expected to be worth $7bn this year, innovation charity Nesta has calculated.
“Digital disruption is transforming the banking landscape. We respond to these changes by investing in players who offer visionary and game-changing solutions,” said CommerzVentures managing director Patrick Meisberger.
“Iwoca’s cutting edge technology provides a scalable way to understand and lend to small businesses, and is therefore a very attractive business model. With its impressive track record, we are convinced the company is set to show extraordinary growth.”