Sydney fintech Waddle just secured a $50 million debt funding round

Online cash flow lender Waddle has secured a $50 million debt funding facility, as it revealed it almost doubled its lending volume in the last financial year.

The software is integrated into popular small business accounting packages like Xero, Intuit and MYOB to be able to look at which invoices are overdue for its customer. Based on this information, money is instantly lent out at the click of a button.

The Sydney startup saw a 84% spike in lending volume for the 2017 financial year, which exceeded the initially expected mark of $30 million.

Waddle co-founder Simon Creighton said the cloud software product was previously “plagued” with complexities like factor pricing, contracts and bookkeeping requirements but had now been “simplified” to make it feel just like a bank overdraft.

“Our customers are a mix of businesses that have never been exposed to non-bank products and customers that are already using receivables based funding products that are actively making the switch to our service,” he said.

Creighton said the latest debt funding deal took up the equivalent of one full-time staff member nine months to secure.

“While it was a stressful process, it was certainly rewarding. We’ve learned an enormous amount that will now guide us and prepare us for future raising conversations,” he said. Read more

Tony Yoo - Business Insider Australia - 28 Nov 2017