Lithuanian fintech SME Finance announced that it has raised a 120 million euro investment from an alternative asset management company in the United Kingdom.
The company is planning to increase its loan portfolio to 200 million euros this year with this new investment.
A year earlier, the European Investment Bank (EIB) backed SME Finance with a funding of EUR 80 million. It is said to be the largest investment awarded by EIB to a fintech lender.
This year alone, the organisation reported that its loan portfolio grew by 70% – from 94 million to 160 million euros.
According to Mindaugas Mikalajūnas, CEO of SME Finance, this rapid growth resulted from the creation of a unique SME financing ecosystem where such firms previously found it difficult to obtain the necessary financing.
“We have become the first representative of the sector in the Baltic States to receive an investment from this UK fund. Together with the other funds, we have raised, this investment will further increase the availability of the SME Finance and SME Bank ecosystem offering financing for small and medium-sized businesses and will allow us to expand our range of services. As a result, we plan to grow our loan portfolio by another third this year: from the current amount of 160 million to 200 million euros,”
said Mindaugas Mikalajūnas, CEO of SME Finance.
