B2B FinTech Investors Target SMB Banking, Business Payments To Talent

B2B FinTech caught a venture capital windfall this week with more than $906 million in fresh funding. Payroll and freelancer payment technologies caught the attention of several investors, but it was a digital-first bank servicing small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that landed the vast majority of funds with its own mega-round.

Cashfree

The State Bank of India has provided an unspecified investment in FinTech Cashfree, a company that aims to digitize and streamline business payments. The solution targets business clients to be able to send and receive electronic payments. Cashfree also offers an application programming interface (API) to facilitate connectivity with clients’ banks. In a statement, Cashfree Co-Founder and CEO Akash Sinha said the company continues its efforts to promote economic digitization in India as well as the other markets in which it operates.

Reevoy

Also deciding to keep its investment round under wraps is Reevoy, an invoice factoring FinTech based in India. The seed investment was led by Stellaris Venture Partners, while Better Capital and Startup Angel Network, as well as individual investors, also participated, YourStory reported. Reevoy plans to deploy the funding to scale and invest in sales and technology.

ShelfLife

B2B digital marketplace ShelfLife operates in the raw materials arena to help businesses procure the items they need to fulfill their own clients’ inventory needs. With a focus on consumer packaged goods (CPG) as well as craft beverages, ShelfLife recently secured $3 million in seed funding led by Switch Ventures and Kindred Ventures, while NextView Ventures and individual backers also participated.

Ganaz

Washington state-based Ganaz operates in the agriculture space, connecting businesses in the vertical to a range of digital solutions including workforce and finance management. With $7 million in new funding, the company is looking to expand geographically across eight new countries, with a focus on Latin America. The company’s Series A funding was led by Trilogy Equity, while Bessemer Venture Partners, Founders’ Co-op, Taylor Ventures, AgFunder and Techstarts also participated, according to GeekWire reports, which added that Ganaz is also on the verge of integrating a payroll solution via Mastercard Payroll Card technology.

Now

Now caught headlines this week thanks to its politically famous co-founder Stacey Abrams. The company raised $9.5 million for its invoice financing solution, which finances 100 percent of an invoice for a 3 percent fee. The company secured the Series A funding from Virgo Investment Group with participation from Cresset Capital Partners, which Now said it will use to scale its offerings in a business environment in which businesses are now waiting for payment on their invoices for as long as 70 to 80 days.

Hokodo

Targeting B2B merchants that are embracing digital marketplaces and sales models, Hokodo has designed the B2B equivalent of buy now, pay later (BNPL), enabling sellers to extend trade credit and customizable payment terms to their customers. Mosaic Ventures led a $12.5 million Series A funding round in the company, while Notion Capital and angel investors also participated. Hokodo said in its announcement it plans to use the funding to invest in its credit technology and to expand across Europe.

Clair

Payroll technology firm Clair raised $15 million for its solution that connects professionals to their earned wages before payday. Designed for businesses that have both full-time and gig workers, Clair integrates into existing human resources (HR) platforms with solutions for both employers and employees. Thrive Capital’s Kareem Zaki led the Series A funding round, which will be used to help Clair’s mission to eliminate the need for payday lenders with interest in introducing new features like debt repayment.

Stoke

For businesses looking to scale, access to freelance talent can be valuable. Stoke stepped onto the scene to help businesses manage and pay their freelance partners, and now investors have placed $15.5 million for the firm’s technology. Battery Ventures led the Series A investment round, while existing and angel investors like TLV Partners, Dynamic and Loop also participated. Stoke said it will use the funding to scale and meet customers’ demand.

Osome

Target Global, AltaIR Capital and Phystech Ventures all returned to startup Osome to fuel its $16 million Series A investment, which also saw participation from new investors S16VC and angle investor Peng T. Ong. Launched in Singapore, Osome offers a “super-app” for small businesses to manage operations and finances, with an initial focus on accounting. The firm has since expanded into business registration and compliance, among other services, and with the new funding, Osome said it will grow across borders and create new product integrations.

Pennylane

Small business accounting startup Pennylane, based in France, announced an $18.3 million funding round led by Sequoia Capital, which reports said used Pennylane as its foray into France’s FinTech market. The firm, which aims to migrate businesses from Excel spreadsheets to manage finances, plans to use the funding to fuel its focus on creating a broader financial operating system for small businesses across Europe, which would integrate a digital marketplace of connected services that can be used in conjunction with Pennylane itself.

Airbase

Enterprise spend management FinTech Airbase raised $60 million, the firm announced this week with Menlo Ventures leading the Series B round. Craft Ventures and existing backers Bain Capital Ventures, First Round Capital, Quiet Capital, Webb Investment Network and BoxGroup also participated in the round, which brings Airbase’s valuation to $600 million, it said in a blog post. Airbase said it will use the funding to invest in product development with a focus on introducing more robust features for its spend management solution designed for midsized firms with complex payments and accounting workflows.

Nubank

Now considered the largest digital-first bank on the planet with more than 40 million customers, Brazil-based Nubank has just secured a whopping $750 million in funding, a follow-on investment to its previous Series G investment round. The company is now valued at $30 billion, TechCrunch reported, adding that Berkshire Hathaway lead the latest round. Nubank targets under-banked consumers as well as small businesses in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, with a range of banking products, including a small business credit card. The firm did not disclose what it plans to do with the funding.