Lithuanian financing platform SME Finance has opened for business in Finland to provide loans to smaller businesses, including those with trading histories of under two years.

Finland has a highly concentrated banking sector, with the top three banks controlling 80% of the business market — leading SME Finance to believe that its digital-first solutions will appeal to local businesses.

SME Finance’s business in Lithuania has provided more than €1 billion in working capital to over 2,000 growing businesses, primarily in the Baltics.

The company is planning further expansion in 2022 in the Netherlands, Spain, and Germany.

Matias Peltoniemi, SME Finance’s Country Manager in Finland, says:

“Finland’s small businesses are not alone in facing a massive funding gap, put at €2 billion by the ECB. SME Finance offers a fairer, faster way for smaller businesses to access growth financing, even unsecured loans for startups with less than two years’ trading history.”

The company previously raised a €120 million investment from an investment fund in the United Kingdom in September 2021.

Featured image credit: Matias Peltoniemi, SME Finance’s Country Manager in Finland