Aussie fintech Shift lands $18m in Series C funding
Australian B2B fintech company Shift has raised $18 million (AUD 27 million) in a Series C funding round led by Sequoia Capital Southeast Asia.
Shift lands $18m Series C
Shift says a “majority” of its existing shareholders also participated in the new funding round.
Founded in 2014 and based in Sydney, Shift provides a credit and payments platform for Australian businesses, enabling them to make and accept payments and access funds. The firm recently secured a $96 million (AUD 140 million) debt facility to support its lending operations.
With the new funds, Shift plans to build out its suite of products as it looks to add “more value” to its network of partners, merchants and direct customers.
Jamie Osborn, CEO of Shift, says the business credit and payments market is “highly underserved” and has “lagged behind the wave of innovation in consumer finance”.
“With this funding, we are well-positioned to scale our business and unlock growth for our partners and business customers,” Osborn adds.
“While large corporates can access financing based on their income or cash flows and consumers can access financing via credit card or personal loans, many businesses in Australia have to rely on mortgaging their homes or vehicles,” says Rohit Agarwal, principal, Sequoia Capital Southeast Asia.
“More than three trillion dollars is outstanding in credit to businesses and more than 90% of it is backed by real estate or automobile.”
Agarwal says Shift is aiming to solve this issue by “using data and technology” to provide “smart finance solutions” to businesses.
