Tencent invests in €210m funding round in French buy now, pay later firm Alma

Alma, the French buy-now-pay-later platform, has closed a €210 million funding round and lured in Tencent and other new investors on board.

The Series C is made up of €115 million of equity and €95 million in debt.

Existing investors Cathay Innovation, Eurazeo, Bpifrance via its Large Venture fund, Seaya Ventures, Picus Capital took part in the round, along with new investors Tencent, GR Capital and Roosh Ventures.

Alma, which undertook a €49m funding round a year ago, has now raised a total of €180 million in equity and more than €100 million in debt financing.

The new financing will be used to speed up the delivery of its products across Europe, in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Belgium.

It is also planning to open in new markets this year, with a focus on the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Portugal, Ireland and Austria.

Last year the buy now, pay later company focused on expanding its product offering, which includes launching longer-term financing options.

The fintech was founded in 2017 by Louis Chatriot and Guillaume Desloges.

Chatriot, co-founder and CEO of Alma said: “We are creating the most trusted BNPL platform to swing the balance in favour of merchants and consumers.

"We want to be part of consumers' daily lives and help them shop better, not just more. We strive to be an efficient and sane alternative to traditional consumer credit. It's equally important for us to improve our merchants' economics by bringing them new customers in a balanced relationship.”