Madrid-based RITMO hits a jackpot with $200 million funding to help e-commerce firms raise capital

Offering cash-strapped startups an alternative to venture capital, venture debt or bank loans, revenue-based financing startups are gaining traction. While Berlin-based fintech re:cap raised $111.5 million in a seed funding round last year and Capchase raised $80 Million in March, Madrid-based RITMO is adding sheen to the race.

After raising €13.8 million funding in a seed round in July last year, RITMO is back with a bang. The fintech has now closed a $200 million debt funding round led by i80 Group and Avellinia Capital. According to the company, it is one of the largest funding rounds of any e-commerce finance business in Europe and Latin America. This brings the platform’s total funding raised to $225 million in debt and equity funding in its first year of operations. 

The funding will be used to support the company’s rapid growth, ensuring capital is available to fuel the funding of over 2,000 e-commerce clients over the next 18 months in key European and LATAM countries. It will also drive RITMO’s global expansion strategy and plans to launch in new markets through agreements with key players in the payments and e-commerce sectors. 

Founded in 2021 by Raimundo Burguera, Iñaki Mediavilla, Iván Peña and Prageet Sharma, the fintech platform provides working capital financing and an automated Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) payment system for e-commerce businesses to overcome supply chain challenges, ensuring they can better manage cash flow and scale faster.

Through this range of products, its technology is embedded in the day-to-day operations of its clients, offering to finance for growth and enabling merchants to extend payment terms with suppliers.

The Spanish startup has secured agreements with major players in the payments and e-commerce sector, with access to more than 150,000 merchants. In March 2022, it partnered with global fintech and international payments service provider, WorldFirst, to launch a £100 million growth package for fast-growing e-commerce businesses in the UK and Europe.

Raimundo Burguera, CEO and co-founder, RITMO, said: “In less than a year of operations, RITMO has closed one of the largest funding rounds of any e-commerce financing company in continental Europe and LATAM, backed by the renowned i80 Group and Avellinia Capital. With this new funding, we aim to help thousands of e-commerce entrepreneurs scale up rapidly and overcome the current supply chain challenges by providing them with the capital and tools to effectively manage their cash flow cycles.”

Asher Hochberg, managing director, i80 Group, added: “There has been a proliferation of the e-commerce marketplace ecosystem in the last few years. RITMO is on a mission to provide an innovative credit financing solution to e-commerce entrepreneurs opting for non-dilutive growth capital instead of selling their business.”

Christoph Pfundstein, co-founder of Avellinia Capital, concluded: “We are delighted to provide a flexible multi-jurisdiction and multi-currency financing line to RITMO to support their further growth.”

As a reminder of the ongoing RBF race, our ongoing tabulations: