FinTech News
Viola Credit Closes $700 Million Fund That Will Lend to FinTech Startups
A global alternative credit asset manage firm just raised a lot of money in hopes of partnering with financial startups. Viola Credit announced the closing of a $700 million fund. The fund — known as Viola Credit Alternative Lending Income Fund II — will focus on offering asset-based lending capital solutions to FinTechs, including those in the PropTech (property tech) and Insurtech spaces. Specifically, Viola plans to partner with startups in the United States as well as Western Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. With 40% of the fund’s capital commitments already accounted for, the company says it plans to partner with an additional 13 to 15 platforms.
Describing itself as a “long-term credit partner,” Viola helps support startups with their operating capital needs. For example, as TechCrunch explains, the company could work with the likes of a “buy now, pay later” platform such as Affirm to provide lending capital on receivables.
As Viola notes in their press release, this new fund is being established as FinTech is coming off a record-breaking year. According to CB Insights, FinTech funding totaled $131.5 billion globally in 2021. Additionally, last year, there were a total of 235 unicorns in the sector, which was up 108% from 2020. Furthermore, currently, one-quarter of all startup unicorns are FinTechs.
Announcing the latest fund, Viola Credit founder and General Partner Ruthi Furman stated, “We’re excited to launch an additional Alternative Lending Income Fund. We’ve deployed over $1.1 billion to date under this strategy and have partnered with over 15 promising platforms.” Furman added, “We’re excited to launch an additional Alternative Lending Income Fund to continue supporting this growing FinTech ecosystem globally.”
Speaking further about how the company will be able to assist startups, Viola General Partner Ido Vigdor noted, “Financial services are undergoing a transformational shift. This FinTech revolution, driven by acceleration of digital adoption and emergence of new business models, enables new forms of banking experience and consumer financial services, which requires securing of lending capital solutions to support growth.” Vigdor concluded, “We pride ourselves on partnering with innovative FinTech platforms to nurture them as a company, help them build their products, and be an essential part of their go-to-market strategy.”
There’s no doubt that Viola Credit’s $700 million fund will go a long way in helping FinTech startups to execute their visions. In turn, consumers around the world may be able to enjoy whatever game changing platforms these startups are able to bring to market with Viola’s help. Of course, with the sector continuing to grow, it might not be long before Viola Credit Alternative Lending Income Fund III comes to fruition.
