European fintech startup MODIFI — a global digital trade finance company for SMEs — has announced a new $60 million debt facility with Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), bringing its total capital raised to $111 million.
SVB’s German branch will help in addressing the increasing demand in India and other existing markets, as well as fuel MODIFI’s continued growth in new geographies, particularly the US, the company said in a statement.
Founded in 2018, the paperless online platform MODIFI attempt to help small and medium businesses foster international partnerships and benefit local economies.
“We are very excited at the boost this partnership with Silicon Valley Bank will bring to our Indian businesses. Following our acquisition of PrimaDollar’s export finance business recently, we doubled our customer base in the market and expect to grow 5X this year. We are well on our way to our goal of distributing $1 billion to Indian SMEs by the end of 2023,” said MODIFI Co-founder and CEO Nelson Holzner.
MODIFI’s Indian business represents around 30 percent of the company’s financed volume in 2020, making it the largest single market. The establishment of offices in both the US and China is of particular value to Indian SMEs, since the two nations are the countries biggest trading partners, accounting for over $150 billion of exports — around 50 percent of the total exports.
Ravi Narwani, MODIFI’s Head of India, hopes this local presence can help close deals for Indian customers.
“Despite the unprecedented disruption to the world’s economies, 2020 proved a strong year for MODIFI. We were well-positioned to step in and address the needs of Indian SMEs, who have begun to recover impressively from the pandemic, with double-digit growth in sectors like agro and metals,” said Narwani.
“Our simple tech solutions allow us to digitally underwrite our customers, providing them with export financing in a matter of days, faster than any bank,” he added.
The Indian government recently reiterated its commitment to supporting SMEs. It aims to increase the number of those exporting, from 1.27 lakh to five lakh, while doubling their export output.
MODIFI hopes that by helping its customers grow with fast and flexible finance, it can help the nation achieve the goals set out in the new foreign trade policy.
MODIFI said that its business tripled in 2020, and the increase in demand for digital cash management solutions allowed the company to expand to four new markets in 2020, launching in China, Hong Kong, the UAE, and Spain.
At present, the company operates out of seven offices in Berlin, Amsterdam, Delhi, Mumbai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Dubai.
