NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Credit Junction, an online marketplace lending platform focused on providing working capital and supply chain financing solutions to industrial and manufacturing small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs), announced today that it has secured $2 million in Seed funding. The round was led by GLI Finance Limited, a specialist lender to small and medium sized businesses, with participation from several strategic individual investors.
Today’s news follows headlines that highlighted that access to capital for SMEs was in steady decline at traditional financial institutions prior to the financial crisis and has not recovered due to regulatory overhang and banks focusing on larger market segments. As a result, SMEs have found it increasingly difficult to borrow the funds needed to sustain and grow their businesses. This trend has been exacerbated by large companies putting pressure on their supply chain by unilaterally extending out payments to suppliers for goods and services received. The Credit Junction’s online platform will provide alternative financing solutions resulting in increased working capital flexibility and decreased borrowing time for SMEs.
Geoff Miller, CEO of GLI Finance, said: “This investment is a perfect fit within our strategy of focusing on niche lending to SMEs and enables us to add another U.S. platform to our portfolio. We are delighted that Michael and his team have chosen to partner with us, and we look forward to building on this investment.”
Michael Finkelstein, CEO of The Credit Junction, said: “We are thrilled to have GLIF lead this investment round and extremely excited to work with Geoff and his team. The Credit Junction’s vision is to transform the way small and mid-size enterprises finance their supply chain and working capital needs. We look forward to working with the GLIF family of investments and finding synergies to bring added value to the network.”
Small businesses play a vital role in the U.S. economy. Employer firms with fewer than 500 employees account for over 99% of businesses and 65% of new job creation, according to the Small Business Administration. As traditional banks remain risk averse and undercapitalize the small business market, The Credit Junction will use emerging technologies to make loans available in less time, drive SME growth and expand new markets leading to job creation.
About The Credit Junction
The Credit Junction is a technology-enabled, online marketplace lending platform focused on providing working capital and supply chain financing solutions to industrial and manufacturing small and mid-size enterprises. The Company believes that the credit markets will continue to shift from traditional commercial banking/specialty lender and trade credit solutions to technologically based platforms, which can decrease time to borrow and overall operational costs. The Credit Junction will open these credit markets through a robust aggregation platform, connecting SME borrowers seeking loans of $200K to $2M with private capital sources.
About GLI Finance
GLI Finance (www.glifinance.com) is a specialist provider of finance to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and is quoted on AIM. GLIF both invests in loans to SMEs and originates finance for SMEs through a variety of alternative finance platforms.
The platforms in which GLIF is invested in vary by geography, industry, size of lending and by type of lending. They include Global trade Finance, UK and US SME Lending, Offshore Lending, UK invoice discounting, European invoice discounting, Global multi-asset crowd funding and UK property-backed lending.