Sydney fintech Waddle, which provides invoice financing for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) has raised $4 million in Series A funding from Allectus Capital.
With the company in 2017 securing a $50 million wholesale facility, the funding will go towards scaling Waddle across Australia and accelerating the integration of its global financial services partners.
Founded by school friends Nathan Andrews and Simon Creighton in 2014, the startup allows SMEs to access credit lines based on their invoiced receivables. The platform integrates with accounting software providers including Xero, MYOB, and QuickBooks to see invoicing activity in real time.
Waddle reported that it now has a client base in “the hundreds” and has loaned over $200 million to date.
Creighton said the support the company will receive from Allectus Capital will be “invaluable”.
Managed and owned by international fund manager ICM Limited, Allectus is a tech investor working across the US, UK, and Asia Pacific.
“Cloud accessible data and the broader digital economy is quickly transforming how SMEs think about and solve their working capital constraints. Allectus share our vision of leveraging data and automation to provide SMEs with simple and cost-effective access to capital. I’m thrilled to have them join the team,” Creighton said.
Pierre De Villecourt, chief information officer at ICM Limited, will join the startup’s board.
He said, “We are excited to assist Waddle in creating a global, data-driven lending solution, which addresses a critical SME need. We look forward to working with the team and the exceptional platform they have created.”
Small businesses have increasingly turned to alternative lenders such as Waddle as the banks have tightened their lending restrictions, particularly in the wake of the banking royal commission.
Online lender Prospa recently announced it has surpassed $1 billion in loans, lending to over 19,000 Australian businesses.
The company has also expanded into New Zealand.
Image: Nathan Andrews and Simon Creighton. Source: Supplied.
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