Qupital, a fintech startup that claims to be Hong Kong’s largest commercial finance platform for SMEs. It has closed a $ 15 million a series led by CreditEase Fintech Investment Fund. With the participation of Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs investors. Fund and MindWorks Ventures, both participants in their seed round.
Use its latest financing to expand
To date, Qupital has raised $ 17 million, including a seed round two years ago. And will use its latest financing to expand its supply chain financing products. Launch them in cities in mainland China and hire more people for their equipment technology development and risk management.
CreditEase, which provides loans and other financial services to SMEs in China, will act as a strategic investor, helping the geographical expansion of Qupital. The existing Alibaba investor has already helped Qupital to reach small businesses on its platform. Qupital will open branches in Chinese cities such as Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, as well as establish a new technology center in the area of Guangdong Bay-Hong Kong-Macao for the development of talent and technology. In total, this year he will hire about 100 people for his office in Hong Kong.
About Qupital
Founded in 2016, Qupital offers loans for SMEs that often have cash flow problems because they are in a cycle of waiting to pay bills. Qupital loans cover most of the value of an invoice, then coincide with the investors and funders who cover the cash with the expectation of a return. The company makes money by charging SMEs a service fee that is a fixed percentage of the total value of the invoice and then a discount rate, and taking a percentage of the net profits obtained by the investors.
Qupital has now processed 8,000 transactions, totaling HKD $ 2 billion in value. He will not disclose how many SMEs he has worked with, but co-founder and president Andy Chan says that number is hundreds.
Will not compete directly against traditional financial institutions
Chan tells TechCrunch that in China, Qupital will not compete directly against traditional financial institutions. Because it focuses on the financing of Hong Kong business entities of Chinese companies in the United States and in Hong Kong currency, rather than renminbi on land. It will also target SMEs that do not receive the services of traditional lenders, using alternative data sources to determine their solvency.
In a prepared statement, CEFIF managing director Dennis Cong said, the growing volume of SMEs and cross-border trade drives a high demand for alternative financing for SMEs that are unattended in the market. And opportunities for investors to obtain Decent performance adjusted to risk. They look forward to working with Qupital to expand its capital base and create unprecedented investment opportunities for CreditEase.”
Also published on Medium.