Small Biz FinTech Leads Week’s B2B Funding Roundup

With more than $200 million in venture capital funding landing with B2B FinTechs this week, investors had their eyes set on a variety of pain points in corporate finance. Small business finserv was a popular target this week, with startups securing funding for their SMB banking, lending and accounting tools. Meanwhile, logistics, data analytics, and business travel technologies also won over investors. Below, PYMNTS breaks down the latest in B2B FinTech funding.

Joust

With an eye on the freelancer segment, neobank Joust has just announced a $2.6 million funding round provided by PTB Ventures, Accion Venture Lab, Financial Venture Studio and Techstars. The company connects entrepreneurs and freelancers with bank and financial services that include invoicing and payment acceptance, pointing to the challenge of these professionals of getting paid on-time and managing the irregularities of their cash flows. In addition to banking, Joust offers invoice guarantees with its PayArmour product, allowing small businesses and freelancers to obtain invoice financing and an integrated bank account and payment processing suite of services. The U.S.-based company said it will use its seed funding to propel the company’s expansion.

Kobo360

Goldman Sachs provided a $20 million investment round for Nigeria-based logistics startup Kobo360, announced at the same time the company also revealed an additional $10 million secured from commercial working capital loans. Kobo360 operates a freight technology platform, connecting truckers with businesses that need shipping services across the region. Reports noted Kobo360 plans to deploy the funding to further develop its product offering and expand its customer base. Today, the company offers localized services that supports a range of languages, while also connecting drivers to a working capital finance program, insurance products and benefits offerings.

Lendingkart

A favorite with alt-lending investors, India’s Lendingkart announced its latest funding this week with $30 million raised from existing backers Fulleron Financial Holdings, Bertelsmann India Investments and India Quotient, reports in TechCrunch said. The Series D round tops up Lendingkart’s total funding to $143 million and will be used to broaden its small- and medium-sized lending operations, add new financial products to its offering, and seek out new customers. Lendingkart pointed to the particular cash flow pain point of exporting micro and small businesses having to wait to get paid from their corporate customers, as well as their struggle to access traditional bank loans, as key gaps in the small business finance market in India.

Incorta

Data technology startup Incorta secured $30 million in support from backers at Sorenson Capital, GV, Kleiner Perkins, M12, Telstra Ventures and Ron Wohl, the company said this week. The Series C investment will help the California company focus on growth and product innovation to fuel development of its enterprise data warehousing solution. According to the firm’s Co-Founder and CEO Osama Elkady, today’s businesses have such complex data requirements that “cannot be handled by the traditional ETL-based data warehouses.” Incorta counts Starbucks among its current corporate users, with the coffee chaining deploying the firm’s technology to enhance data analytics in its finance and supply chain operations.

Scoop

Business travel startup Scoop announced a $60 million investment round led by Activate Capital, reports in TechCrunch said this week, while Goldman Sachs, NGP Capital, Total Group, BNP Capital and other investors also participated. Scoop offers an enterprise carpooling service, working directly with corporates including T-Mobile and LinkedIn to connect their employees with a more efficient way to travel to and from workplaces via Scoop’s pre-scheduled travel times. The company’s technology automatically develops the most efficient carpooling routes based on an array of factors. With the new funding, Scoop said it plans to fuel expansion, reports said.

ScaleFactor

Small business accounting solutions provider ScaleFactor, based in the U.S., also announced a $60 million funding round this week, Crunchbase reported. Coatue led the Series C round, while existing backers Bessemer Venture Partners, Canaan Partners and Broadhaven Ventures, and newcomers Vulcan and Stripes Group, also participated. ScaleFactor connects small and medium-sized businesses with artificial intelligence-powered accounting solutions including bookkeeping, bill payment, tax returns and invoicing. According to reports, ScaleFactor will deploy the investment to fuel its efforts in becoming a one-stop-shop for SMBs’ back-office needs, which means plans to launch new products like lending and data analytics capabilities.