The Lithuanian fintech SME Finance's pot got a bit bigger as it secured an extra credit of €100 million credit from London-based Fasanara Capital. The brings Fasanara's total commitment to the lending platform to €240 million.
SME Finance is a EU-wide fintech marketplace where SMEs can several financing options including traditional business loans, revenue-based financing, embedded finance solutions. The start-up says it has already reached more than €1.3 billion in loan volume and invoice financing with over 2,500 growing businesses, implementing machine learning and open banking in its service.
“This market has huge potential, with a highly-skilled labour force and innovative niches. It’s an area where Fasanara wants to increase exposure and, because many businesses there are still at an early stage of evolution, that means addressing the SME sector. Our 3-year partnership with SME Finance has been highly successful, creating solid foundations of trust between us. We are excited to be extending it now with a new €100 million line of credit to grow the geographical scope of operations and to encourage the next wave of entrepreneurs throughout the continent," says Francesco Filia, CEO of Fasanara Capital.
By deploying AI, open banking, and automation in its loan decision making, financing, and customer onboarding, SME Finance shortens and simplifies the entire process.
“SMEs are a highly attractive credit market for major asset managers, like Fasanara, and we are excited to deepen our partnership. Our mission is to be the number one banking and finance partner for SMEs in Europe, and this extension of our credit facility will help us greatly in making finance accessible for every business. We believe strongly that this sector is one of the cornerstones of our economy, and there is a lot of demand right now for finance partners that speak the language of small- and medium-sized business," says Mindaugas Mikalajūnas, CEO of SME Finance.
