VCs Back Supply Chain, Corporate Banking Disruptors

The U.S. has taken the week to celebrate its Independence Day, but the rest of the global FinTech scene was busy funneling cash into B2B startups. Across India, Australia, France and the U.K., investors placed nearly $50 million into B2B FinTechs, with particular attention on startups disrupting the supply chain management and corporate banking spheres. We break down all the VC activity from the last week below.

Supply Chain Management

Moglix

What began as a B2B eCommerce portal for construction tools and supplies is now changing, thanks to market shifts in India. Moglix, which launched in 2015, has begun to add new services to its lineup as its home market of India introduces tax reform; the company recently launched a new solution to help manufacturers remain compliant with new rules, and its software will also look to help digitize more aspects of manufacturing in the country. With $12 million in new funding announced this week, Moglix said it will focus on its supply chain management technology and expand its products for manufacturers. The Series B funding included International Finance Corporation, Rocketship.vc., and existing backers Accel Partners, Jungle Ventures, Shailesh Rao and Venture High way. The investment brings the total raised by Moglix to $18 million, reports said.

B2B eCommerce

Jumbotail

With a focus on the food and beverage industry, Jumbotail provides an online wholesale marketplace for grocers and other food sellers. The company said it secured $8.5 million in Series A funding from Kalaari Capital and Nexus Venture Partners. In a statement. Kalaari Capital Partner Bala Srinivasa said Jumbotail is bringing a tech focus to product discovery, distribution, supply chain management and pricing for India’s food and beverage space. According to Jumbotail cofounder and CEO Karthik Venkateswaran, the wholesale food space is a “multi-billion dollar market opportunity.”

Fraud

EFTsure

With $1.5 million in fresh funding, Australia’s EFTsure is looking to combat the more than $500 million in payments fraud the nation’s enterprises face every year. The company’s latest investment round was led by Our Innovation fund, also based in Australia. The Series A funding will go toward helping EFTsure scale up and address the upcoming rollout of the New Payments Platform later this year. Reports said EFTsure counts SMEs, nonprofits, schools and ASX200 corporations as its clients. Cofounder Ian Mirels told reporters that part of the problem is that in Australia, there is a lack of awareness that banks don’t match payee names to account numbers when processing transactions, leading payments fraud to be a rising focus for cybercriminals, he said.

Invoice Finance

Previse

U.K.-based Previse deploys artificial intelligence to determine how likely it is a company will pay its supplier invoice. With that information, the company assesses risk on those unpaid bills for suppliers to access financing while they wait for customers to pay up. This week, Previse announced early $2.6 million in fresh funding from Hambro Perks and Founders Factory. Reports said the startup secured the investment as it continues to focus on AI, Big Data and other cutting-edge technologies for its invoice financing platform.

Corporate Banking

Qonto

France’s Qonto is officially open for business after months of building anticipation for its digital corporate banking solutions. While announcing its launch, Qonto also revealed it raised $11.3 million in new funding from Valar Ventures and Alven Capital. With a focus on digital- and mobile-first services, Qonto enables businesses to open a bank account and access online and mobile banking services, along with a commercial card, for monthly fees. Businesses can access debit and transfer payment capabilities, get an IBAN, and overall deploy Qonto as a way to manage spend – especially when employees use the physical or virtual cards offered by the service.

Tide

This U.K. startup has been building hype for its corporate banking service as of late, too. This week, Tide announced $14 million in Series A funding from backers, including Anthemis and LocalGlobe. With the funds going toward bolstering staff levels at its London headquarters, Tide said it will also be focusing on its SME banking solution, which also focuses on digital- and mobile-first interfaces for customers. In a statement, CEO George Bevis said the investment signals “a real opportunity to support and champion small- and medium-sized companies in the wake of Brexit. Britain’s smaller firms have been let down by traditional banks, which often charge vulnerable companies eye-watering fees and keep them waiting weeks to open a business account.”