India’s Drip Capital, a global cross-border trade finance platform, on Friday, said it has raised $113 million in equity-cum-debt funding.
The $23 million in equity came from Japanese institutional investors GMO Payment Gateway and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), while International Finance Corporation (IFC) and East West Bank led the debt investment of $90 million.
Founded in 2016, Drip Capital leverages machine learning and cloud technology to finance cross-border transactions, allowing small businesses to free up working capital and invest in growth.
On its website, the company said it has financed over $6 billion worth of global trade transactions spanning over 100 countries. It has raised about $640 million in equity and debt funding to date from marquee global investors.
Its equity investors include Accel, Wing, Transpose Platform, Peak XV Partners (Sequoia India), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), GMO Payment Gateway, and Y-Combinator. On the debt side, Drip partners with leading financial institutions including IFC, Barclays, and East West Bank.
The new funding will expedite market expansion and support the development of new products tailored to customer needs, the firm said in a statement.
“In 2022 and 2023, the global trade sector faced significant challenges, including rising interest rates that squeezed margins and restricted capital access for SMBs. Despite these challenges, Drip has emerged as the preferred trade finance platform for SMBs in the US and India,” said Pushkar Mukewar, Co-founder and CEO of Drip Capital.
“We’ve achieved cash profitability and expanded our business during this period,” Mukewar added.
Last year, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) said it was considering extending a $40-million loan to Drip Capital.
In 2021, Drip Capital said it raised $175 million in capital to power its next phase of growth. Funds raised included a $40 million Series C equity investment and $135 million in warehouse debt facilities.
