SimpleFinance raises $15m supported by SBI Group
SimpleFinance, a Russian online platform providing SME lending, has completed a $15 million equity fundraising round with an investment from the SBI Group.
The investment is SBI’s largest minority investment to date in a Russian company.
SimpleFinance raised external capital for the first time in June 2017, with a $30 million Eurobond issuance.
Three months later, in September, the SBI Group made its first investment in the company during its first-round equity raise, including debt financing. With the latest second round, SBI Group’s total capital commitment to the company now stands at nearly $50 million.
The new funds will go towards further tech development and lending business growth of SimpleFinance.
The company also looks to appoint its first independent non-executive directors to the board of directors to strengthen its corporate governance practices.
Since it was founded in 2015, SimpleFinance’s portfolio growth had an expected CAGR 2016-2018 of approximately 500%.
Alexey Basenko, SimpleFinance CEO, says: “We have already put to work our unique lending platform backed by proprietary technology. By creating products tailored to the needs of small and medium-sized businesses in Russia, we have been able to rapidly expand our lending portfolio, which more than doubled in 2017 and is forecast to double again in 2018 thanks to SBI support.”
