Defacto, the instant, embedded B2B lending platform, has raised an additional €10 million from new investor Citi Ventures and existing investors Northzone, Headline and Global Founders Capital to bolster its Series A funding.
This investment will be used “to transform Defacto’s instant lending platform into a personalised lending experience, with the aim of improving and empowering small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to strategically utilize debt to accelerate their growth.”
Jordane Giuly, Defacto Co-founder and CEO, said:
“Lack of access to working capital is the number one cause of small business bankruptcy in Europe. That’s why we built Defacto specifically for SMBs with speed and flexibility as our guiding principles.”
Two years later, Defacto has delivered on this mission “by deploying over €250M in small business financing with an average quote to capital time of less than 27 seconds.”
Leveraging this agility, the company is now “shifting its focus towards delivering a personalized lending experience that offers proactive recommendations to SMBs on the optimal times to take on debt, facilitating faster business growth and sustainable practices.”
Jelena Zec, Director of Venture Investing at Citi Ventures, said:
“As Citi Ventures works to expand our investment activity in Europe — particularly in the region’s emerging embedded finance ecosystem — we’re delighted to make Defacto our first France-based portfolio company.”
Defacto’s success lies in its investment in AI modeling.
As an API-first product, Defacto says it “leverages diverse data types including public, financial, historical, and peripheral data to power its robust underwriting algorithm. This enables quick and efficient lending decisions. Defacto’s connected lending infrastructure integrates with over 30 top accounting, banking, fintech, treasury, and marketplace tools. This extensive network provides a holistic source of financial trends and risk assessment data across SMBs, enhancing tailored financial solutions and customer support.”
With the infusion of €10 million in funding, Defacto is poised “to expand its presence in the European market, particularly in Germany.”
This strategic move aligns with t”he company’s ambition of becoming a European leader in B2B lending by 2025. Additionally, Defacto plans to invest in enhancing the direct lending sign-up experience for its customers, ensuring a seamless and user-friendly journey.”
While Defacto is actively recruiting “for a few key positions, the company emphasizes that its primary focus is not on team growth but rather on strengthening its capabilities and offerings to better serve its customers.”
Founded mid-2021 by Jordane Giuly, Morgan O’hana, and Marc-Henri Gires, Defacto provides instant, flexible financing “to small and medium businesses (SMBs) in Europe. Defacto’s API-first product enables third parties such as B2B marketplaces, fintechs, and other digital platforms to embed Defacto’s financing solution directly in their own products. As a result, SMBs can benefit from a seamless and instant lending experience, while platforms increase their differentiation and customer satisfaction.”