There is no shortage of buy now, pay later (BNPL) startups in Europe and the UK. London-based Tranch came out of stealth mode and raised £3.5M for US expansion, Playter picked $55M from backers of Klarna, SoFi and Pipe, Madrid’s RITMO scored over €184 million and more.
The latest one which is making many waves in the B2B BNPL world is Germany’s Mondu. In May last year, it raised $43 million Series A round and now has picked up another $13 million in a Series A extension round. With this and including its seed investments, the company has raised $90 million in equity and debt so far.
The recent investment was led by New York-based VC firms, including Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures and FinTech Collective. For those who are not aware, Thiel is a German-American billionaire entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and political activist. He’s a co-founder of PayPal and CIA-backed big data startup Palantir. He was also the first big investor in Facebook.
With the funds, the Berlin-based fintech that provides loans to businesses rather than consumers plans to expand its market and introduce new products. The German company is also exploring new uses for its B2B payment solutions, including omnichannel solutions. According to Philipp Povel, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Mondu, Buy Now, Pay Later has become a valuable tool for meeting business buyers’ expectations by offering a ‘consumer’ checkout experience and flexible payment options.
He added, “We are confident that the demand for BNPL for B2B will grow dramatically in 2023. There are many positive effects of this financial tool, not only for buyers but also merchants and marketplaces as they continue seeing basket sizes increase and enhanced loyalty of buyers.”
An exciting year follows
In addition to the new investment, Mondu has also introduced payment by installments, opened an office in Amsterdam, and expanded into Austria and the Netherlands. As well, The Berlin-based fintech has grown from 20 people last year to 140 today. The company also appointed Julian Kurz and Lauren Hoehlein Joseph as its Chief Commercial Officer and Chief People Officer, respectively.
Simplifies B2B payment transactions
The Berlin-based fintech startup was founded by Malte Huffmann, Philipp Povel and Gil Danziger in order to give merchants and marketplaces the ability to offer their business customers flexible payment terms with the most popular B2B payment methods. A number of BNPL solutions are available, including purchase on invoice, SEPA direct debit, and installments.
Furthermore, it protects merchants from risk and eliminates the hassle of collecting and dunning. With a focus on B2B BNPL payments, Mondu ensures customers enjoy a seamless, modern and state-of-the-art experience.
Currently, Mondu has 150+ employees of which 30% are females, 70% are males and there are around 40 nationalities.
Founder’s journey
Founders, Philipp and Malte, have been working together for 13 years and have created two other businesses together before Mondu. Malte is German and Philipp is Brazilian and grew up in Germany. They met the third founder and CTO, Gil, in 2021 who is from Israel and has been based in Berlin for the past decade.