Update Nov. 12: ID finance finally closed the crowdfunding campaign one week ahead of schedule. The company raised £4.95 million ($6.36 million) in total, more than three times as much as the initial target.
ID Finance, a Barcelona-based fintech company with Russian roots, claims to have raised nearly $2 million in just a few minutes last week on Crowdcube. As of Oct. 28, the company secured almost $3 million, exceeding its initial crowdfunding target. It values itself in this crowdfunding campaign at $100 million.
Founded in 2012 by Boris Batin, ID Finance defines itself as “a data science, credit scoring and digital finance business.” Its platform relies on an advanced IT and risk management system, which “collects and analyzes thousands of data points in real time.”
The company uses alternative sources of data to target “a much larger portion of the population” than those usually applying for loans.
Hello Mexico, goodbye Poland
ID Finance claims 3 million registered users with 40,000 new users per week, operating in Spain, Brazil and Mexico under the brands ‘Moneyman’ and ‘Plazo.’
The company used to cover Russia, Kazakhstan, Poland and Georgia, but these countries are now covered by a separate entity, IDF Eurasia.
“We are leaving Georgia gradually because of new regulations which unfortunately do not leave any room for fintech lending. We’re also leaving the Polish market, which we find less attractive than the Spanish one,” the company’s Director of Strategic Communications Dmitry Gorokh told us.
Operations in Russia and Kazakhstan are being maintained for the moment.
Funding abundance and IPO
Since its inception, ID Finance already secured $56 million from external sources, according to CrunchBase, including $50 million in debt financing in 2017. Asked the reasons for launching this crowdfunding campaign amid such financial abundance, Gorokh said:
We want to support our community, existing and forthcoming retail investors, clients, employees who believes the company and keen to share our growth story. That’s why it’s a limited amount of shares set on the campaign. In addition, this equity round will optimize the company’s capital structure. The more equity we raise, the more stable our capital structure amid the debt obligations. This will allow us to raise more debt on much more attractive conditions
Having generated €45 million in revenue in 2018, ID Finance says it is on the track to make €90 million this year, and plans to reach no less that €267 million in 2021. The company says it was recently selected by Euronext, the owner of the Paris Stock Exchange, for its IPO program.
