Stenn, a digital financing platform for global SMEs, has raised £38 million in equity funding from US investor Centerbridge at a £700m valuation.
The London firm leverages the digital economy to provide quick access to efficient growth capital for global SMEs that are engaged in international trade.
The business was founded in 2015 by serial entrepreneur Greg Karpovsky, who has more than 20 years’ experience pioneering a new market in digital trade finance.
Since its inception, Stenn has provided over $6 billion of financing to SMEs in over 70 countries across a range of different sectors, from retail to IT services.
Its technology platform uses big data and tailored algorithms to analyse credit, fraud and compliance risks. Stenn is able to provide cross-border capital to SMEs within 48 hours. This capital is provided by some of the largest financial institutions in the world, with Stenn managing allocation of funds on their behalf.
Stenn has been named as one of Europe’s top-10 fastest-growing FinTech businesses, consistently doubling revenues over recent years.
“A lack of access to finance is stunting the growth of SMEs around the world that are engaged in international trade,” said Karpovsky.
“At Stenn, our purpose has always been to level the playing field for global SMEs, helping to plug a multi-trillion-dollar financing gap by connecting these businesses with low-cost institutional capital.
“Our proprietary platform and data analysis de-risks the process for our banking partners and provides a quick, simple and low-cost solution for SMEs.
“We are excited to be partnering with an investor of Centerbridge’s calibre and vision. Their funding will enable our next chapter of growth, allowing us to capitalise on our first-mover advantage whilst continuing to meet surging customer demand as we scale our team and proposition.”
Jed Hart, co-head of Centerbridge’s European business and senior MD, added: “We have been impressed with Stenn’s disruptive approach to addressing the challenges of global trade finance supply and believe that Stenn has a highly scalable proposition.
“We are excited to be partnering and supporting Stenn’s growth at an important time in its evolution and during a period of uncertainty in the world.”