- The company, founded in 2016, has more than 5,000 customers across 1,200 cities in Brazil;
- BizCapital says that the demand for loans has increased during the coronavirus crisis.
The Brazilian online lender focused on SMBs BizCapital has raised BRL 65 million (around $12 million) in a Series B investment round led by DEG (Deutsche Investitions – und Entwicklungsgesellschaft), the international investment arm of the German development bank KfW, and followed by the corporate venture capital fund of MercadoLibre, called Meli Fund, and existing investors, such as Quona Capital, Monashees, Chromo INvest, and 42K Investments.
According to BizCapital, the money will be used to develop new products for micro and small entrepreneurs, in addition to new distribution channels. The startup, which offers loans of up to BRL 200,000 to SMBs, told the news portal Valor Investe, that demand has increased during the coronavirus crisis. Loan applications grew 19% in March and April when compared to the same period of 2019.
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“This latest round reinforces investors’ confidence in BizCapital’s ability to innovate in the Latin American credit market amid challenging circumstances caused by Covid-19,” said Francisco Ferreira, the company’s chief executive, in a statement published by TechCrunch. “We have seen four times as many business credit inquiries on our site year over year, and we are ready to serve them.”
The company, founded in 2016, has more than 5,000 customers across 1,200 cities in Brazil.
