Fintech lender Lumi targets $20M raise to fund aggressive expansion
Fintech lender Lumi has announced plans to raise A$20M capital to turbocharge growth and aggressively expand its team and market footprint over the course of the next 12 months.
The A$20M equity raise, which will be managed by KPMG Corporate Finance, comes after explosive growth of Lumi in 2019. The alternative lender sees no need to be bearish on the Australian market, despite the Coronavirus downturn, proceeding with its aggressive expansion plans laid out at the start of 2020. The equity raise will focus on expanding Lumi’s existing product lines and technology platform.
Existing investors in Lumi, including cornerstone investor the Josh Liberman Investment Group, will be participating in the raise, and Lumi will welcome the prospect of new financial and/or strategic investors to help build on the momentum the alternative lender has in the Australian market.
Lumi is quickly establishing itself as a leading lender to Australian SMEs, following its launch in August 2018. It focuses on providing small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) a faster, easier way to access working and growing capital. Lumi offers business loans from as little as $5,000, up to $250,000 for a single loan on flexible terms, without the hassle of lengthy applications or paperwork. Lumi fulfills successful loan applications within 24hrs, with a maximum loan term of 24 months.
Lumi Founder and CEO Yanir Yakutiel said that whilst Coronavirus has impacted the Australian market, the time was right for Lumi to scale up its operations and further invest in its technology.
“There has never been a better time to be a fintech lender like Lumi. This will take many industry observers by surprise, but the truth is that Government support for our sector has really empowered technology enabled lenders. Policies such as the government guarantee scheme and the support from the Australian Office of Financial Management have helped immensely to fill the funding gap that was caused by the crisis. The role of technology enabled lenders, such as Lumi, as a competitor and driver of innovation and change in the lending market is being increasingly recognised as vital to the overall health of our economy.
This year, we’ve launched a new line of credit product and participated in the coronavirus SME Guarantee Scheme. Our focus now moves to building upon what makes Lumi so great: our technology and our team. Whilst we came into 2020 lean, we plan on almost doubling our headcount over the next 12 months to make our expansion possible.”
Josh Liberman, Director of Josh Liberman Investment Group said, “We’ve been working with the Lumi team since inception and it’s been very encouraging to see the progress made to date, especially during COVID as tech enabled businesses have been able to capture more market share from traditional businesses. Lumi is very well positioned for rapid growth over the next couple of years as the economy recovers.”
The company, as part of its expansion plans, has appointed Steve Lambert to its Board of Directors and Chair of its Risk Committee. Steve brings a wealth of experience in wholesale banking having held leadership roles at Westpac (15+ years) and NAB (20+ years), and has a passion for helping scale up businesses like Lumi grow.
Steve Lambert said “I am really excited to be working with such a dynamic team. Having worked with several fintech start-ups, it is great to be involved with a group that has such a strong sense of purpose that is providing a very differentiated product to an underserved market segment.”
