finmid, a financial infrastructure innovator helping B2B platforms offer their small and medium-size customers access to tailored financing support, has emerged from stealth to announce it has raised €35 million in early-stage equity funding from Blossom Capital, Earlybird VC and N26-founder Max Tayenthal. The funding comes as finmid also announces it has partnered with Wolt, a leading European tech company known for its local commerce platform.
Founded in 2021 by former N26 employees, Max Schertel and Alexander Talkanitsa, finmid is reinventing banking for small businesses by enabling B2B software companies to offer financing solutions to their customers, quickly and without risk. With just a few lines of code, finmid partners can offer a growing range of capital and payment solutions their SMBs need to scale.
SMBs across Europe are facing a €400bn financing gap. Despite being critical to the continent’s success – generating close to 60% of total gross value added, and employing 90 million+ people – smaller companies continue to be underserved by banks and other providers. finmid challenges banks’ one-size-fits-all approach, offering a more efficient and tailored, digital-first solution that a new generation of entrepreneurs has come to expect.
With finmid, thousands of growing businesses can access financing without having to fill in multiple forms, submit to convoluted processes and low approval rates. They can access funds within 24 hours directly from the B2B platforms they use every day. Decisions are based on real-time data and expert knowledge of any given sector, which mainstream and challenger banks do not have. The advantage for the marketplace is that it gains new revenue streams and creates a sustainable way to retain customers.
Max Schertel, Co-Founder of finmid, said: “For hundreds of years, banks served as outposts where local businesses could get bespoke banking solutions. In the last few decades of consolidation, banking has become distant and impersonal, leaving small and medium-sized businesses behind. At finmid, we bring business financing back to where businesses are run. With just a few lines of code, finmid enables any B2B software platform to offer financing to their customers, building on existing relationships to fuel their business growth.”
Alexander Talkanitsa, Co-Founder of finmid added: “Traditional banking will no longer be the primary source for business financing. Banks still have the largest pool of capital but struggle to deploy it efficiently. It’s time for a new way of banking. We believe B2B software platforms are the future distribution channel for financial services due to their relationships with thousands of businesses. Moreover, these platforms have access to real-time data, enabling streamlined user interactions. By leveraging the extensive reach, data insights, and relationships these platforms maintain, alongside financial capital, we’re looking at a modern way of business financing.”
In the past three months, finmid has tripled revenues and signed up some of the world’s best-known platforms as partners. The new funding will be used to continue expanding and onboarding customers across core European markets, while offering platforms more financing options and a smoother user experience.
Ophelia Brown, Founder and Managing Partner of Blossom Capital, commented: “For B2B software platforms to stay competitive, they need to be leveraging financial services to better serve and retain their customers, and increase their margins. The most innovative and forward-thinking businesses in Europe understand the importance of this and are increasingly turning to finmid as the best partner to achieve these ambitions. It’s a huge opportunity that finmid’s founders have the track record and credibility to deliver and we’re excited to join Max, Alex and their team on their mission.”
Vincent Ho-Tin-Noe, CPO at Wolt, added: “We’re constantly looking for ways to support our merchant partners and help them succeed. Together with finmid, we’re able to provide easy and flexible access to additional financing – helping our partner develop their businesses, or have a safety net during tough times. The feedback we have received has been extremely encouraging, and we’re excited to see what kind of value we can create with the program moving forward.”
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2024/04/berlin-based-finmid-raises-e35-million-to-empower-b2b-platforms-to-become-financial-partners-for-customers/
