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The fintech lender will launch new products and double its staff next year as it targets “aggressive growth” following a $20 million capital raise.
SME business lender Lumi has announced that it will be expanding its services and team in 2022, funded by a new capital injection.
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The $20-million raise has now seen private investor Perennial Partners join Lumi as a new strategic investor alongside a consortium of others.
Speaking of the investment, Brendan Lyons, head of private investments at Perennial Partners, said: “Lumi is a great Australian growth story. We agree with its vision of economic recovery and growth, and the need for finance to modernise and match the needs of its customers.
“We’re looking forward to working with [Lumi CEO Yanir Yakutiel] and his team on the next stage of growth for Lumi as it expands [in 2022].”
Existing investors in Lumi, including cornerstone investor Josh Liberman Investment Group, also participated in the raise.
It raised a junior mezzanine tranche – provided by Alexander Funds Management and Roadnight Capital – to improve its capital structure and to fund additional growth.
The move comes as the SME fintech lender, which provides SME loans of up to $500,000 and business lines of credit up to $250,000, continues its growth plans.
It recently doubled its funding facilities, doubled its headcount (to 60), and announced a partnership with Openpay, which enables Lumi Financial Management to provide SME funding to OpyPro customers, including HP and Kogan.
It said that the addition of the new tranche will further allow it to use its capital more efficiently.
The funds will be used to fund “aggressive growth plans” in 2022, including doubling its staff count again in 2022 and broadening its product offering.
Mr Yakutiel commented: “Since our inception, there’s been a lot of industry commentary around the ‘promise of fintech’ and the disruption it will bring.
“During the crisis, lenders like Lumi helped keep real Australian businesses going with innovative products like the Lumi Kickstarter loan. Now we must start to scale to the size where we can be true competitors on a national level, and we are proud to have the backing of our investors to go to seize the opportunity coming out of the global pandemic.”
He continued: “We’ve always believed it's the investment into our technology platform that will help set us apart. With the capital we have raised ... we can move away from the narrow product focus that tends to define lending, and build out a broad range of services for Australia’s SMBs to power their businesses.
“Our product offering is constantly evolving to suit the changing needs of Australian small businesses. The ability to launch innovative products quickly has always been our competitive advantage.”
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