Figopara, a next generation financing platform from Turkiye, has secured major investment from international businesses, venture capitalists and financial institutions.
The Istanbul-based fintech business has raised $11 million in their third round of funding. It adds to the $5,6 million investment they generated in an earlier series of funding.
The latest investment means Figopara is currently valued at $50 million. The company’s backers include L2G Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel General Technology Ventures, World Bank Group member IFC (International Finance Corporation), Eczacıbaşı Momentum, Finberg, Maxis Venture Capital (an affiliate of İş Bankası), Logo Yazılım, Sabancı Ventures, ScaleX Ventures, İstanbul Portfolio Techone Venture Capital Investment Fund and Development Investment Bank of Türkiye (TKYB) Venture Capital.
According to a press statement, the investment allows the fintech company, which offers “fast, easy, and low-cost financing for SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) and mediates supplier financing for corporate companies”, to focus on “new acquisition opportunities” and “growth abroad”.
Noting the company had “succeeded in gaining investment much higher than we predicted”, Figopara co-founder and CEO Koray Bahar said, “We are proud to be the company that attracts so many robust institutions from the financial technologies and entrepreneurship ecosystem for investment. Raising investments from leading strategic investors and venture capital matters greatly to us.”
Figopara has integrated its services with “more than twenty banks and more than ten financial institutions”, explained Bahar, who also stated that the company has hit and exceeded its growth goals five times in the past two years.
In a short space of time, the Turkish fintech company has become a trusted partner by offering solutions to help the cashflow of SMEs. Since launching in 2017, Figopara has overseen the transactions of more than 105,000 invoices involving over 6,000 SMEs, as well as major brands in some of Turkiye’s biggest supply chains.
Figopara is now eyeing both domestic and international growth. The firm intends to increase its Turkish business 8-fold with improved access to supplier financing solutions for SMEs, aided by new Figopara branches in İzmir, Ankara, and Adana. The firm is also looking to expand globally, spreading out from Italy to the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region.
“At a time that central banks all around the world are shifting to tightening their monetary policies, which is causing liquidities to be soaked up from the markets, gaining investment like this proves that Figopara is on the right path,” said Figopara chairman of the Executive Board Ahmet Bilgen.
Mehmet Ali Deniz is the managing partner of L2G Ventures GSYF (‘Girişim sermayesi yatırım fonları’, or Venture capital investment funds), which led this round of investment for Figopara. Remarking on their financial support for Turkiye’s rising fintech star, Deniz said:
“As L2G Ventures, our strategy will be supporting companies with enough resources, team, and vision to compete in regional and global markets, as well as being sector leader of the Turkish market.
“We’re very pleased to provide finance with distinguished international and Turkish investors by leading this funding series to Figopara’s innovative approach to Turkey’s supplier financing system and to provide funding to SMEs and from local to the global growth of our vision.”
