Twinco Capital, based in Amsterdam and Madrid, is one of the few high-growth European fintech companies led by women. The company provides a production cycle finance solution from purchase order to the final invoice. And news is just in, they have closed a $12 million equity and debt round.
The investment was led by a US-based Female co-founded VC firm Quona Capital. The round also saw participation from Working Capital and existing investors Mundi Ventures and Finch Capital. In terms of venture debt, Zubi Capital provided the funding.
The funds will be used to accelerate the company’s expansion within the major sourcing countries. Also, it will be used to strengthen its technology and data capabilities, especially in relation to ESG. Further, they are also seeking to raise a $100M debt facility this quarter as demand grows.
Monica Brand Engel, co-founder and Managing Partner at Quona said, “At Quona, we’ve been incredibly impressed by the strength of this founding team and its business model, and we’re excited to be part of their journey to provide much-needed and affordable supply chain finance to help responsibly fuel the economic gains of emerging market suppliers.”
COO Carmen Marin said, “In this way, Twinco is a catalyst for change. With our new funding, we will be extending our geographic scope and data capabilities. We are also very excited to launch the very first sustainable-native supply chain finance program—the Twinco ESG Tilt, where business intelligence is directly linked to beneficial purchasing and funding conditions.”
First-of-its-kind fashion supply chain finance platform
Founded in 2019 by Sandra Nolasco, an experienced banker and specialist in trade finance with an international career spanning over 20 years in major European commercial banks, and Carmen Marín (COO) with over 16 years of management experience in both equity investing and project finance at Banco Santander.
Twinco Capital engages with large corporations mostly in the retail and apparel sectors and offers funding to their suppliers worldwide, advancing up to 60% of the purchase order value upfront and paying the remainder upon delivery. The process is transparent and offers a no-hassle experience that provides the suppliers with funding for its purchase orders within 48 hours.
To date, the company has grown rapidly, and has programs in place which serve engaged European and Latin American retailers who buy over $10 billion per year of manufactured products, mostly from SMEs in emerging markets.
With Twinco, SMEs worldwide can access affordable liquidity, when they most need it, which is when they receive an order and need to start production. It uses machine learning to evaluate the quality and strength of the commercial relationships between buyers and their suppliers.
“If we are to have competitive and socially responsible supply chains on a global scale, suppliers need access to affordable financing from the very beginning of production, starting with the purchase order,” said CEO Sandra Nolasco.
The company is growing fast and has onboarded more than 100 suppliers, located in 12 different countries, including Bangladesh, China, Pakistan, South Korea, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Spain.
The organisation’s mission is to reduce the estimated $1.7 trillion trade finance gap in the world, which impedes small and medium-sized businesses’ ability to expand and access business opportunities.
Further, Twinco Capital engages with large corporate partners to reduce financing costs and improve supply chain reliability by offering their suppliers access to affordable funding.
