Amman-based lending fintech liwwa has secured US$18.5 million in its Pre-Series B fundraising round. The company lends to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Jordan and Egypt, and also operates peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform liwwa.com.
Founded in 2015, liwwa has provided over US$85 million in debt to qualifying SMEs. The company also says that its P2P platform has enabled retail investors to earn returns in excess of 13%.
liwwa’s Pre-Series B equity-debt round included debt contributions: Bank al Etihad increased its debt financing agreement by US$5 million and an additional US$8.5 million debt facility was raised from the Capital Bank of Jordan under the NASIRA agreement.
In addition, Jordan Kuwait Bank and Triodos Bank extended a US$1.1 million and US$2.2 million finance facility respectively, PROPARCO approved a €1 million facility, and Triple Jump approved a US$500,000 loan specifically for the Egypt expansion plan.
The round also included US$4.5m in equity investment led by existing investors, including DASH Ventures, Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank, Edgo and the German Development Finance Institution.
liwwa’s CEO, Dennis Ardis, commented:
“With this funding round, we have yet taken another major step towards accomplishing our goals. We will continue to grow as the market grows by bringing in innovative fintech solutions and cash flow-based lending.”
