Australian fintech funding round-up: April 2019
It's the strongest quarter for Australian startup fintech funding to date.
Fintechs received a decent amount of funding in the March quarter of 2019, according to data from Techboard. The analysis found that fintech funding was up to $658 million for the quarter and was the strongest quarter to date. This was made up of a mix of 43% of private funding and 46% of debt financing. Placements made up just over 10%.
There were a number of companies that received funding throughout the quarter, which we have documented in previous round-ups, including here and here. You can see the companies which have received funding in the past month below.
Moula
According to Techboard, Moula received $250 million in debt funding this March quarter. It announced it was providing $250 million in small business funding as part of its plan to give small businesses better access to capital.
Moula CEO Aris Allegos said: "With our new pricing and ongoing commitment to transparency, we're now able to provide business owners with another option which is not only faster and easier than a bank, but also more affordable."
Goodments
Goodments, an investment app that matches people to shares and fund options based on their values, announced its first retail crowdfunding raise on Equitise. Goodments is aiming to raise a maximum of $500,000 with the minimum investment set at $200.
The investment app is also planning a Series A raise and is planning to use the crowdfunding to enhance the efficiency of its revenue streams as well as enter the UK market.
Zip
Buy now pay later company Zip has raised $42.8 million from institutional investors in March. According to the Australian Financial Review, the company plans to use the funding to target daily spending categories including groceries and fuel using the raise from institutional investors.
Zip offers two buy now pay later products: Zip Pay and Zip Money as well as budgeting app Pocketbook.
Wisr
An oversubscribed placement has seen Australian neo lender Wisr receive commitments to raise approximately $15 million. The lender, which provides unsecured personal loans through a peer-to-peer model, will use the capital to invest in its proprietary tech platform as well as accelerate the rollout of strategic growth channels.
CEO Anthony Nantes said: "The capital raise will add balance sheet robustness, providing a strong foundation for Wisr to continue to take advantage of the huge opportunity in Australia to disrupt the incumbents, and deliver technology that gives consumers a smarter, fairer, wiser financial choice."
Bonus: Startup and tech funding by state
Techboard data has revealed the states that received the most funding in the March quarter 2019. The chart below shows the lion's share went to Victoria with 79.4% of the funding, made up largely of one acquisition worth over $1.6 billion for Victorian company PEXA. This was followed by New South Wales with 12.6% and Queensland with 4.2%.
Source: Techboard
