Germany Showcases Europe’s B2B FinTech Funding Strengths

Europe’s startup funding ecosystem is booming, with the latest data signaling a combined $60.9 billion in new investments for startups in the region in the first six months of 2021  — more than all of 2020 combined. That’s despite the number of investment deals coming in at only about half of 2020 totals. This week’s B2B FinTech investment roundup finds Europe a strong contender, with Germany-based companies appearing several times and indeed taking the top spot.

GrowSari

Philippines-based GrowSari has not disclosed how much its Series B investment totaled, but has revealed it has raised a combined $30 million since its inception. The company helps local, small merchants digitize with a variety of solutions targeting inventory management, procurement or working capital lending. Pavilion Capital, Tencent, International Finance Corporation, ICCP SBI Venture Partners and Saison Capital, as well as existing backers, all participated, and GrowSari said it will use the funding to fuel customer acquisition, expand its B2B marketplace and debut new financial tools for these merchant users.

Curate

With a focus on florists, caterers and other creative small businesses operating in the events space, Curate has raised $1.25 million for its technology that helps streamline sales, supply chain and operations processes. The seed investment was led by OCA Ventures, while Square co-founder Jim McKelvey, Cultivation Capital, and Scout Street Capital also participated. The firm said it will help its customers scale with the new funding, enhance its product and infrastructure and secure new hires.

Airbank

Based in Germany, Airbank provides infrastructure that connects and consolidates bank account and financial data for startups and small businesses to gain a better grasp on financials. Investors have just placed nearly $3 million in the company, with New Wave, Speedinvest, Tiny VC, Accel, Sequoia and others participating in the seed round, according to Tech.eu reports. Reports did not indicate how Airbank plans to use the investment but noted the firm is focused on enabling real-time cash flow management, as opposed to forcing small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to rely on weekly or monthly reporting to gain financial insights.

Labviva

Targeting the healthcare arena, Labviva streamlines procurement with its enterprise gateway marketplace. Investors have placed $8 million in seed funding for the Software-as-a-Service startup, which the firm said will go towards product development and the introduction of new products. Senator Investment Group led the round, while B Capital Group (Ascent) and Glasswing Ventures also participated, an announcement revealed.

Osome

SMB accounting FinTech Osome has just raised $16 million to fuel ambitions to design a so-called super-app. The company streamlines back-office financial workflows using artificial intelligence to automate accounting, payroll and tax processes. Investors at Target Global, AltalR Capital, Phystech Ventures, S16VC and an angel investor all participated in the Series A round, which will be used to help Osome grow across borders and enable product integrations.

Progcap

India’s Progcap is working towards becoming a digital bank for businesses in the country, and currently offers financing for SMBs. With new funding from Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital India to the tune of $25 million in Series B, Progcap will work to expand its offering of financial services to small retailers to disburse loans and streamline cash flow through supply chains.

DataRails

Also raising $25 million is DataRails, a financial planning and analysis (FP&A) startup targeting SMBs that rely on Excel spreadsheets to run financial reports. The company enhances the functionality of those spreadsheets with technology that attracted the funding, which topped up its Series A funding. Zeev Ventures, Vertex Ventures Israel, Innovation Endeavors and Vintage Investment Partners have all participated in the round, TechCrunch reported.

Myos

With nearly $30 million in fresh funding, Germany’s Myos is looking to accelerate expansion of its small business lending technology designed to help startups and younger companies access capital that traditional banks do not provide. Investors at Fasanara Capital and Xploration Capital led the Series A round, while Tomahawk.VC and several other investors also participated, according to Silicon Canals reports. The new funding will go towards scaling and automating its lending platform and growing internationally, with the Netherlands its next target.

Zeller

Nearly $38 million in funding for Australian small business banking FinTech Zeller is helping the company compete with legacy banks and support SMB cash flow. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Spark Capital led the round, which also saw participation from Square Peg, Apex Capital Partners and Addition, and which also follows just six weeks after Zeller debuted its SMB services that include point of sale terminals, merchant accounts and a small business payment card. The company plans to use the funding to accelerate further development of its banking platform and bring new team members into the fold.

Forto

Logistics and supply chain management outfit Forto, also based in Germany, raised $240 million this week led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. The firm, now valued at $1.2 billion, aims to mitigate the friction that impedes the movement of goods and money along the supply chain with its digital freight forwarding and supply chain management technology. Citi Ventures, G Squared and existing backers Northzone, Inven Capital, Cherry Ventures and Unbound also participated. Forto said it will use the investment to focus on digitizing global trade, expanding across borders, investing in its technology and boosting customer operations.