Bizfi has received a $20 million investment from Metropolitan Equity Partners. Details on the exact structure of the investment was not provided. The investment by Metropolitan is an increase from the $65 million committed by the company this past December.
Bizfi is an aggregation platform that has partnered with a long list of online lenders including OnDeck, (NASDAQ:ONDK), Funding Circle, Kabbage, IMCA Capital, Bluevine, SmartBiz and more than 30 additional partners that are available offline. Bizfi and its marketplace and funding tech have provided over $1.7 billion in financing to more than 30,000 small businesses across the United States since 2005. Bizfi also participates in funding via the platform. Bizfi provides multiple funding options including short-term financing, medical financing, lines of credit, equipment financing, invoice financing, franchise financing, medium-term loans and long-term loans guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Stephen Sheinbaum, Bizfi founder. stated;
“Metropolitan has proven to have a clear vision for both Bizfi and the industry. Our relationship has deepened over the past few months and when the opportunity to raise additional capital presented itself, MEP was the most logical partner.”
Paul Lisiak, Managing Partner of Metropolitan said that while the online lending industry has experienced “recent headwinds”, their confidence in the alternative finance industry has “never been stronger.”
“Since our original investment, Bizfi’s management has proven month after month its ability to generate profits and growth in an industry where most companies are calculating burn rate,” stated Lisiak.
The new capital will allow Bizfi to expand its funding program, increase the speed at which funding applicants receive direct funding from Bizfi, and to develop a national marketing campaign to increase awareness of the Bizfi platform and offerings.