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Prospa, an online lender for small business, has announced that it has delivered more than half a billion dollars into the Australian economy, providing loans to more than 12,000 small businesses across the country.
According to the online lender, 2017 was a “bumper year” for the SME loan specialist, after securing over $50 million in equity and debt funding. The firm announced a $25 million equity round led by AirTree and Square Peg in February (the largest deal of its kind in Australia at the time), which was followed by an additional $20 million debt funding line from Silicon Valley-based Partners For Growth in July.
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The company has doubled the size of its loan book in the past 12 months and grown its team by over 50 per cent to 150 people from 33 countries. Most recently, Prospa was this week announced as the second fastest growing company in Australia, after achieving a 239 per cent average revenue growth since 2013/14.
Greg Moshal, co-founder and joint CEO of Prospa, commented: “For over five years, we’ve been transforming the way small business owners experience finance. Before Prospa, small business owners simply couldn’t access finance unless they had an asset to put up as security, and they certainly couldn’t do it in a fast easy way from the convenience of their own workplace.
“We’ve now provided over half a billion dollars in loans to small businesses, and there’s obviously a real need there. We’re now focusing on finding more ways to provide quick, easy access to capital — how, where and whenever it suits our customers.”
Beau Bertoli, co-founder and joint CEO of Prospa, added: “As we scale up, we’re taking a long-term view on our growth plans. Awareness of fintech is at [an] all-time high, and the sector is at a tipping point in Australia. Regulatory uncertainty is being addressed through consultation and fast decision making by Treasury, and we’re confident this will help kickstart the next wave of innovation and growth. We’re genuinely excited about the future.”
Danielle Szetho, CEO of FinTech Australia, commented: “We congratulate Prospa on this important achievement. Prospa’s incredible growth is a great reflection of our recent results from the EY FinTech Australia Census, which shows that fintech companies have tripled their median revenue since 2016, and that the industry overall is rapidly maturing.
“This strong revenue growth is happening because fintech companies such as Prospa are providing new and innovative services that delight their customers, compared to the previous offerings from traditional financial services institutions.”
[Related: Mortgage industry companies among fastest growing]
