Azimo, a Fintech Startup Raised €20M Debt Equity From the EU

As Britain is nearing to depart from the European Union, a London based money transfer and fintech service start-up Azimo has made a deal with the European Investment Bank (EIB), fetching a 20 million Euro debt. The debt funding is extended by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI).

Azimo has said that the debt funding will be utilized on its payment platform and Research & Development (R&D). Azimo has been aiming to expand its business in the North American region, and it is likely to recruit more talents for its offices in Poland.

Azimo Co-founder and Executive Chairman Michael Kent said,

We find we can get exceptional talent more usually there [Poland] than anywhere else in Europe, Krakow has become a bit of a Fintech hub.

Azimo has managed to raise a total of 66 million USD since its inception, and its investors’ list includes big names like Rakuten, Frog Capital, and eVentures. As per Azimo, it has a user base of more than two million people, and it facilitates payments to almost 200 countries. It was since August last year, Azimo has been making profits.

Kent said,

With some additional funding, we’re making a decision as to whether or not to get below profitability again.

He added,

I think we’ll probably step on the gas. Knowing you can get to profitability, that you have a very clear bridge to profitability is important.

It should be noted that Azimo’s business is unlikely to be impacted by Brexit as it holds a license to initiate business in the Netherlands. However, Azimo advocates that the United Kingdom has been providing the best ecosystem across the globe for technology-based start-ups.

As per Kent, Europe is still the biggest international payment market, but due to the absence of any new generation service providers, the cost of the transfer is enormous there. That impacts the service delivery time as well.

As per Azimo’s plans, it may start looking beyond Europe to the Asian market by this year’s end.