Drip Capital has reached a major company milestone; financing over US$ 1B of cross-border trade through its platform. The global fintech company provides working capital solutions to small and medium-sized exporters (SMEs) in emerging markets like India and Mexico.
Sharing his views on the company’s milestone, Pushkar Mukewar, Co-Founder and CEO, Drip Capital said, “Our core focus has been to innovate and solve credit access problems for the export-import community. With the company crossing the US$ 1B mark, we are confident taking the business to new markets and continuing to bridge the trade finance gap for SMEs globally.”
Drip has been providing SMEs with working capital solutions since launching in 2016 and has continued supporting them through the COVID-19 pandemic. While the pandemic disrupted supply chains globally and caused traditional capital providers to stop lending, there was a change in the export composition accommodating the demand for essential products. Meanwhile, many SMEs remain cash-starved and need working capital to service this spike in demand, further underscoring the need for alternative financing solutions like the ones Drip Capital provides.
“Since our financing products are short term in nature, around 30-50 days, we have performed well during COVID. As economies have opened up, we have seen a significant increase in demand for our financing products. We have witnessed over 50% quarter on quarter growth in the last three quarters,” adds Mukewar.
Unlike traditional financial institutions, Drip Capital leverages data analytics and technology as the basis for its underwriting engine, allowing it to scale rapidly and provide a seamless and simple experience for SMEs. Currently, it is working with over 1,500 sellers and buyers throughout the world. In India, Drip works with over 700 exporters spread across 60 cities in the country.
Drip has raised nearly US$ 200M through venture capital and debt since 2016. On the equity front, the company has raised over US$ 45M through investors such as Accel Partners, Sequoia Capital, Wing VC, and Y Combinator.
Drip has also partnered with institutional investors, family offices, and wealth advisors to provide investors short-term (3 Months to 1 Year) Notes backed by a diversified pool of trade finance assets. Investors seeking uncorrelated returns in the mid to high single digits find Drip’s Notes attractive in a low yield and volatile environment.
Trade receivables are short-term assets that are an alternative source of income. Their performance is uncorrelated with traditional asset classes such as equities, fixed income, or even real estate. To date, Drip has issued US$ 150M in Notes. The company has reported zero principal losses and has made US$ 6M in monthly interest payments to its debt investors since inception.
