Penta lands $20.3m to help German and Italian SME
Penta, a digital banking platform serving Italian and German small and medium enterprises (SMEs), has raised €18.5 million ($20.3 million).
Its latest funding round was co-led by RTP Global and existing investor HV Holtzbrinck Ventures. The round also saw participation from ABN AMRO Ventures, VR-Ventures and finleap, which has a major stake in Penta.
Penta’s CEO is also co-founder of solarisBank
RTP Global’s partner Alex Pavlov will join Penta’s board alongside Barbod Namini, a partner at HV, and Michael Hock, chief financial officer at finleap.
With the aim of reshaping business banking for the SMEs which underpin Europe’s economy, co-founder and CEO at Penta Marko Wenthin says he start-up offers “a veritable one-stop-shop of services” which go “way beyond banking”.
“By growing the round of investors, Penta will also profit from a wider network across Europe, future co-operations and a significant acceleration of growth,” adds Wenthin.
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Also co-founder of solarisBank, a Penta customer, Wenthin became Penta’s new CEO shortly after the business banking service was ‘acquired’ by finleap.
The company is headquartered in Berlin, with offices in Milan and Belgrade, and offers businesses a current account “within minutes”, along with a national IBAN, and debit cards for expense management.
Investor RTP Global calls Penta “a strong team” that’s harvesting “rapid growth” by “thinking outside the traditional banking frame”.
Penta says its investments from bank capital funds VR-Ventures and ABN AMRO Ventures will also bring in “strategic expertise”, opening doors to the banks’ portfolio companies such as Tink, CrossLend and Ockto.
“In Germany, Penta is playing a crucial role in transforming business banking from the core,” says ABN AMRO Ventures’ head Hugo Bongers.
