Viola Credit fuels Hokodo's growth with €100M debt facility

Today digital payment terms solution provider Hokodo announced a new €100 million debt facility from Viola Credit, a global credit investment manager focused on supporting the growth of the innovation economy. 

Established in 2018, Hokodo enables B2B buyers located across the UK and EU to defer payment by 30, 60 or 90 days or until the end of the month following purchase. More recently, Hokodo has launched ‘Pay in Instalments’ and ‘Pay Now’ features, giving B2B merchants a modular catalogue of payment options from which to choose.

Over 30 per cent of B2B trade takes place on credit terms, with trade credit representing the largest source of business financing in advanced economies. Yet current processes for offering trade credit are outdated.

Hokodo’s digital platform solves these issues by offering merchants a powerful set of solutions to manage trade credit and scale with confidence. Merchants that integrate with Hokodo see on average a 40 per cent increase in revenues. 

An easy-to-integrate digital platform streamlines the entire order-to-cash process, allowing merchants to make credit decisions in real-time, be protected against bad debt and get access to working capital finance options.

With every element of the trade credit management process handled by Hokodo, merchants can redirect time and resources to customer acquisition, product development and other growth opportunities. Meanwhile, buyers get instant access to the flexible payment terms they expect at the checkout. Hokodo eases cash flow issues for buyers and sellers, ultimately aiding and accelerating growth for businesses on both sides of the transaction. 

With this new financing, Hokodo will facilitate more than €1.5 billion of B2B transactions over the next 24 months. The debt facility will also support the continued roll-out and expansion of Hokodo’s embedded Pay Later and Pay Now offering for B2B merchants and marketplaces.

Aman Mehra, VP of Finance at Hokodo, said: 

“To date, Hokodo has processed payments for more than 50,000 business buyers and forged industry-defining partnerships with institutions such as BNP Paribas, Citi and SCOR.

“With this new credit facility, and by partnering with a reputable global credit fund, we’re able to continue our work supporting the B2B economy, making payment terms safer, simpler and more sustainable for buyers and sellers of all shapes and sizes.”

Following the acquisition of a Lithuanian payments company in 2023 and subsequently becoming an EMI, plus the recently announced partnership with US B2B payments company Balance, Hokodo is rapidly expanding its operations across Europe and North America.

Neha Mittal, VP Europe at Viola Credit, commented: 

“Since inception 6 years ago, Hokodo has rapidly become one of the leading providers of digital trade credit, offering swathes of small businesses access to seamless financing options for purchases, in turn helping merchants expand their customer base further.

We’re thrilled to develop our relationship with Hokodo and provide additional financing capacity to support their growth and scaling ambitions across Europe.” 

Lead image: Hokodo. Photo: uncredited.