Fintech firm Bizi, which offers SMBs in Israel with credit lines, has secured $7.5 million through a seed funding round.
Bizi’s investment round has reportedly been led by Israeli-founded Fintech BlueVine, whose tech will be used by Bizi, along with Israeli insurance firm Phoenix and Orshay, a firm offering non-banking credit.
BlueVine, which is reportedly investing in an Israeli firm for the first time, has been fairly active in the US markets during the last 10 years, offering a banking platform for specifically for SMEs.
Bizi’s management noted that they’ll use the proceeds to further enhance their products and make an entry into the fast-evolving Israeli market, offering credit for companies via an instant and all-digital platform.
In statements shared with Calalist, Bizi CEO and co-founder Ido Lustig noted that the firm will offer credit lines of up to NIS 500,000 (appr. $156,900) for companies with up to 20 workers and up to NIS 20 million in revenue (appr. $6.27 million).
Lustig told Calalist:
“The U.S. model isn’t similar to our model and we know what to look at and what to ignore. We take an existing and proven methodology that works well in the U.S. and adapt it to Israel. We are a completely independent company which uses BlueVine’s technology.”
He added
“We will be completely digital at every stage of the process. The client will receive a credit line and as soon as they use it will repay it in 12 installments. Until that stage there will be no costs. Our interest rate is more expensive than the banks, but it is far more convenient and comfortable.”
As noted in the update, Bizi was established in July 2021 by Lustig, who had been working as the CRO and GM International at BlueVine. Previously, he had also served as the Senior Risk Manager at PayPal.
Bizi further revealed that they’ve hired Saar Zachrish as the firm’s new COO. Zachrish previously worked as Chief Digital Officer at Bank Hapoalim’s Innovation Division.