Ibancar secures €1.65 mn in external equity funding led by Knuru Capital

By Megha Bhattacharya

Spain and the UK-based cloud consumer credit platform, Ibancar has completed its first round of external equity funding in a dual raise for a total amount of €1.65 million. The FinTech aims to expand its activity into the UK and other European territories. The funding round was led by venture capital investor Knuru Capital, with participation from a syndicate of internet entrepreneurs and senior finance executives.

Alex Melis, founder and CEO of Ibancar, commenting on the funding round, said “At Ibancar our belief is that the only way to be inclusive and serve the entire credit spectrum of borrowers is to reduce credit losses. That can only be achieved, at scale, by changing borrower behaviour and that, in turn, is mainly achievable with the use of collateral. We are extremely proud and happy to have found investors that share our vision and ambitions. We already have a fantastic working relationship with the team at Knuru Capital and look forward to building the business together.”

According to Ibancar, the funding round will enable it to enter scale-up mode by strengthening its capital base to support lending growth, as well as investment in product development, marketing and the hiring of key executives.

Ibancar aims to offer affordable means for borrowers to obtain loans based on the value of their car. The use of a vehicle as collateral reduces the risk of credit losses and consequently allows the platform to offer cheaper loans to the borrower and unlocks a straightforward instalment loan system.

Alain Dib, CEO of Knuru, said, “We are looking forward to being part of the Ibancar journey as their first institutional investor and to partner with an experienced entrepreneur with big plans to redefine access to the lending industry. Ibancar is our first investment in Europe, where we have developed a thorough understanding of the market and we continue to engage in potential investment opportunities across our priority sectors.”