Industry Financial Services Products Online Credits Headquarters Berlin, Germany Type of business Private | Founder Jens Woloszczak Website [1] Founded 2014 | |
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Area served Spain, The Netherlands, Australia & The United Kingdom | ||
An introduction to the spotcap team
Spotcap is a multinational online credit platform that provides short term loans for SMEs. It aims to save customers time and money when searching for financing options. Spotcap uses a unique, proprietary credit scoring technology that directly evaluates real-life business data to provide fast and flexible financing. Headquartered in Berlin and with local offices in Madrid, Amsterdam, Sydney and The United Kingdom Spotcap is backed by Rocket Internet, one of the world's largest venture capital firms and startup business incubators. It has also received investment from Finstar Financial Group, Holtzbrinck Ventures, Access Industries and Kreos Capital.
Contents
Spotcap bedrijfsvideo
History
Spotcap was founded in 2014 by Dr. Jens Woloszczak, and has its headquarters in Berlin. The company was incubated by Rocket Internet, and secured substantial investment led by Access Industries. Spotcap became operative in Spain in 2014, and in the Netherlands and Australia early the following year, and most recently in The United Kingdom. In August 2015, the company was selected to join the Deutsche Börse Venture Network, recognising it as a "high-growth company". In February 2016, the company secured a further €31.5 million in investment led by Finstar Financial Group. Spotcap aims to expand into new markets and is currently scouting new locations in Europe, Asia Pacific and the Americas.
The business has called for greater regulation of the fintech industry, arguing that regulation will "deter dishonest financial service providers from entering the market".
Business Model
Spotcap is a provider of business loans to small businesses. SMEs often struggle to secure or access financing, by virtue of being too small or lacking the financial history to qualify for bank loans. The service is fully automated and online, with small business owners uploading their tax forms or connecting their merchant accounts to qualify for a credit line. The company's algorithm checks the real-time business performance and creditworthiness, providing instant feedback. The credit score determines the payable interest rate and fees. The credit lines range from €1000 to €100,000 in Spain, €5000 to €150,000 in the Netherlands and $5000 to $250,000 in Australia, and in The United Kingdom £10,000 and £150,000. These credit lines can then be transformed into loans, depending on the client's needs and desired payback schedule.
Business Need
According to a recent survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, business owners spend approximately 25 hours on the search for credit. As a consequence, the true cost of securing a loan always includes the time an entrepreneur loses trying to find it. With businesses continuously moving faster, entrepreneurs are asking for a quicker and more flexible access to funding. Lengthy delays can result in missed opportunities and the loss of competitive advantages. The decision process for a traditional bank loan takes up to several weeks. In line with this, small business owners declare access to capital as their top growth concern. Inc. reported that a substantial group of small business owners are discouraged from even applying for loans in the first place. Current research from Harvard Business School [2] shows that small business lending continues to fall, while large business lending rises. While loans for larger businesses have increased since the financial crisis, loans for small businesses have dropped about 20 percent.