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Non-bank lender Lumi has successfully completed an $8-million funding round to support its growth ambitions in the small-business lending market.
Alternative lender Lumi has revealed that it has closed an $8 million funding round, led by the Josh Liberman Investment Group, with contributions from on-shore family offices.
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Lumi founder and chief executive Yanir Yakutiel said the capital injection would allow the lender to boost loan originations, continue investing in its technology, double its staff count over the next 12 months, and introduce more “options” to small businesses.
In the aftermath of the banking royal commission, Mr Yakutiel noted there is an opportunity for alternative lenders to better serve small businesses, who often lament experiencing difficulty obtaining loans.
“The Hayne royal commission has shed plenty of light on predatory banking practices towards SMEs, and a complacent disregard for customer satisfaction amongst the big four banks,” the Lumi CEO said.
“Our aim is to become the go-to lender of choice for SMEs. When the big banks say no, which they often do, we find a way to say yes, because we’re on the side of small business.
He continued: “We lend to both blue collar and white collar businesses, from plumbers, bakers, sparkies and tradies to lawyers, architects and accountants. We look at all industries differently, and unlike the banks, we’re of the strong view that not one size fits all.”
Lumi currently offers unsecured business loans between $5,000 and $100,000 on “flexible” terms, with approvals taking less than an hour in a lot of cases. Applicants need to have a valid ABN, a gross annual turnover of at least $50,000, and a minimum of six months in operation.
“We are looking to not only make capital more available to SMEs, but to ultimately revolutionise the user experience in financial services through our dedication to transparency and customer support,” Mr Yakutiel said.
“Considering the findings of the royal commission, in some cases this is a very low bar for us to jump over, given the conduct of our much larger competition.”
The Lumi CEO continued: “We built the Lumi lending platform to ensure loan applications are seamless, fast and secure, and we are now able to extract the diamonds in the rough from the businesses that banks often overlook with our comprehensive credit decisioning algorithm.”
Mr Yakutiel noted that the lender is a signatory of the Australian Finance Industry Association’s Online Small Business Code of Lending Practice.
[Related: Shining a light on Lumi]
