FINCH Technologies, a Cape-based fintech focused on creating better fintech ecosystems, had made a further significant investment to become the majority shareholder in business finance marketplace FundingHub, following an investment in 2019, it said yesterday.
FundingHub offers 33 banks and alternative lenders able to meet the needs of South African small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that need finance to grow their businesses. The business, which started four years ago, allows SMS to compare funding solutions at no charge, from R10 000 up to loans of more than R100 million.
SMEs that apply for funding on FundingHub must have been in business for at least six months and have annual turnover of R350 000. They are matched to the most appropriate lender.
Finch Technologies chief executive Michael Bowren said: “We made a second investment into FundingHub, due to its dramatic growth over the past 18 months. We are confident about the ongoing expansion of this business.
“We are particularly interested in investing in technology-driven businesses that help financial service providers originate sales, onboard new clients in a seamless manner and enrich their own database. It is through the seamless origination and onboarding that real value is offered to businesses and consumers,” he said.
Bowren said since the start of Covid-19, FundingHub had seen a dramatic increase in requests for financing from SMEs, because of SME distress in managing cash flow and the reluctance to visit a bank branch.
BUSINESS REPORT