BizCapital, a Brazilian fintech that provides financial solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises, has received an investment of USD 3 million from the Netherlands-based social impact investor Oikocredit. Bringing the company’s total Series B round to USD 15 million. The capital infusion will be used in the development of new product offerings and expansion of distribution channels that will allow the fintech to expand its reach to even more SMEs across Brazil.
In June 2020, BizCapital announced its initial Series B investment round, with USD 12 million led by the German development finance institution DEG (a subsidiary of KfW Group, Germany’s promotional bank), with additional investment from MELI Fund (the Corporate Venture Capital Fund of MercadoLivre) as well as Quona Capital, Monashees, Chromo Invest and 42K Investments. Oikocredit’s entry into the round further reinforces investors’ confidence in BizCapital’s ability to innovate in the Latin American credit market amid challenging circumstances caused by COVID-19.
BizCapital’s social impact on the Brazilian SME economy was an important aspect in Oikocredit’s investment decision. “We know that small businesses were directly impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, and this additional investment helps BizCapital offer alternative solutions to these entrepreneurs,” says Francisco Ferreira, BizCapital Co-founder and CEO.
The impact of COVID-19 is apparent from an increase in total loans processed by the fintech during the pandemic, with 6,000 loans total having been provided from launch until June to nearly 10,000 by September.
“Oikocredit is excited to enter into this new partnership and we believe in BizCapital’s growth potential and experienced management team. We support the company’s mission of promoting responsible financial inclusion and generating meaningful social impact by creating thousands of jobs in Brazil,” says Nicolás Arrosa, Equity Analyst, of Oikocredit.
Since launching in 2016, BizCapital has grown 18-fold, serving over 7,000 unique clients in more than 1,200 cities across Brazil. The fintech seeks to reduce red tape in the Brazilian SME traditional banking system, offering entrepreneurs a fast and reliable way to access financial services.
