Spotcap, the Rocket Internet-backed small business lending platform with a strong focus on automation, is entering New Zealand. The platform, which specialises in short term credit lines and loans, is already active in the UK, the Netherlands, Spain and Australia.
The NZX-listed Heartland Bank is an active player within the Australasian fintech space. The firm led a NZ$10m investment round in consumer lending platform Harmoney way back in January 2015. Harmoney is now NZ’s largest marketplace lender, having signed loan purchasing agreements with a number of institutional backers over the years, including Blue Elephant Capital Management and MW Eaglewood.
“Our partnership with Spotcap highlights Heartland Bank’s commitment to fintech and digital banking, in line with both our own internal offerings and our investments in the sector,” said Jeff Greenslade, CEO of Heartland Bank. “We are delighted to gain further exposure to online SME lending and look forward to working with Spotcap to grow its Australian operations.”
Australia in particular has been something of a hotspot for fintech business lenders with an eye for global expansion. Spotcap landed in May 2015, shortly after OnDeck’s arrival in April that same year, while Kabbage teamed up with Kikka Capital to launch an offering at roughly the same time. Could NZ become the next point of focus for these firms?
Spotcap last raised capital – a mixture of debt and equity – in February 2016. The €34.4m round was led by private equity firm Finstar Financial Group, with Holtzbrinck Ventures also participating.
Commenting on the platform’s expansion to NZ, Spotcap founder and CEO Jens Woloszczak said that collaboration is “essential to the growth and development of the fintech industry”.
