SUMMARY
- Drip Capital has secured a total funding of $113 million in a combination of debt and equity.
- This infusion of capital will strengthen its efforts to expand into new markets and develop innovative products.
- The firm has recently introduced a foreign exchange (forex) service in collaboration with Barclays.
Trade financing firm Drip Capital has secured a total funding of $113 million in a combination of debt and equity.
Japanese investors GMO Payment Gateway and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) contributed $23 million in equity, while the startup also secured $90 million in debt from International Financing Corporation (IFC) and East West Bank.
In a press release, Drip Capital announced that this infusion of capital will strengthen its efforts to expand into new markets and develop innovative products that meet the specific needs of its customers.
Established in 2015 by Pushkar Mukewar and Neil Kothari, Drip Capital provides digital solutions for trade financing to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in India, the US, and Mexico. The company, with offices in Palo Alto and Mumbai, offers services like receivables discounting, which allows for immediate payment upon delivery of goods, and supply chain financing, which provides longer credit periods.
The company has reported a significant increase in revenue, quadrupling it over the last two years, and has seen its customer base grow by double. Additionally, the firm has recently introduced a foreign exchange (forex) service in collaboration with Barclays, presenting SMBs with a clear and affordable option for managing international payments.
Drip Capital has established partnerships with over 9,000 sellers and buyers across more than 100 countries. Pushkar Mukewar of Financial Express mentioned that the company has processed over 1.99 million invoices worth $6.5 billion since the beginning of the year and currently has a user base of over 2,700. 60% of its business originates from India, with the US and Latin America following closely behind.
Mukewar stated that despite facing numerous challenges in the global trade sector in 2022 and 2023, including escalating interest rates and limited access to capital for SMBs, Drip Capital has managed to remain a leading trade finance platform for SMBs in the US and India. The company has achieved profitability and has expanded its operations during this period.
Regarding the new funding, Ryu Muramatsu, the executive vice president at GMO Payment Gateway, said, “We are proud to have supported Drip from its inception through both equity investment and debt financing… Drip’s innovative and comprehensive solutions in digital trade finance are transforming how SMBs engage in trade. We believe Drip’s technology and proprietary underwriting are uniquely positioned to address the challenges in this space.”
In 2022, the company laid off 20% of its workforce of 400 members as part of its restructuring approach.
Drip Capital’s previous funding round included $175 million in Series C funding from investors such as TI Platform, Accel, Peak XV (formerly Sequoia India), Wing VC, Irongrey, and GC1 Holdings in 2021. To date, Drip has secured approximately $640 million in both equity and debt financing.
