The German fintech platform for business banking, Penta has just announced to have raised €18.5 million in the first closing of a new funding round backed by new and current investors.
The investment was backed by RTP Global which co-leads this funding round with HV Holtzbrinck Ventures. Further, ABN AMRO Ventures and VR-Ventures joined this round as additional investors. Meanwhile, finleap also showed continuous commitment in Penta by following this round as well.
As per new developments, Alex Pavlov, Partner RTP Global will also join Penta’s board together with Barbod Namini, Partner HV and Michael Hock, CFO finleap.
Based in Berlin, with offices in Milan and Belgrade, the digital startup makes it easy to save money by letting businesses open an account where they can pay as they grow. Companies can apply for a business account within minutes and receive a German IBAN, debit cards for expense management and other financial services.
Founded in 2016, with Marko Wenthin, Jessica Holzbach, Luka Ivicevic, Lukas Zörner, Henrik Jondell and Igor Kuschnir in the top management, Penta has raised total €17.2 million funding so far. Also, finleap invested in the company in Q1 2019 and supported the management ever since. Together with HV Holtzbrinck Ventures finleap invested again in Q3 2019.
With the latest investment, Penta plans to use the capital to further development of its digital platform in order to enhance the services for their corporate clients, with a strong focus on tech, product, customer service and marketing. Besides, Penta is evaluating the expansion into other European markets.
Marko Wenthin, CEO & Co-Founder Penta: “We are very delighted to see a strong commitment from such renowned and strategic partners for our vision: reshaping business banking for small and medium enterprises. SMEs are the engine of countries’ economies. With our approach of building a platform, by focusing on their business needs and offering them a veritable one-stop-shop of services, we go way beyond banking. By growing the round of investors, Penta also will profit from a wider network across Europe, future co-operations and a significant acceleration of growth.”
RTP Global is a VC firm with a strong track record. So far, the firm has invested in 90 companies across US, Europe, India and South-East Asia. In Germany, companies such as Delivery Hero, Sum Up, Urban Sports Club, Coach Hub and Tier are part of RTP’s Portfolio. The investment in Penta is one of the first coming from RTP Global’s new $650 million fund, which is targeting verticals such as AI, SaaS, fintech and insurtech.
Alex Pavlov, Partner RTP Global: “We are always searching for exceptional teams who are ready for the sprints, prepare for the marathons and have the tenacity to grow their business and disrupt their respective market. In Penta, we found all of that: a strong team, rapid growth and the mission of solving the problems of their SME customers by thinking outside the traditional banking frame.”
With VR-Ventures and ABN AMRO Ventures, two bank backed funds are also supporting Penta from a strategic perspective, bringing in their expertise in different regional markets. ABN AMRO Ventures’ portfolio includes fintech companies such as solarisBank, Tink, CrossLend and Ockto.
Hugo Bongers, Head of ABN AMRO Ventures: “We invested in Penta, because we believe in the dynamic and experienced management team, as well as in their goal to empower SMEs through smart banking. In Germany, Penta is playing a crucial role in transforming business banking from the core.”
Main image picture credits: Penta
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