Prospa raises $60 million in capital

Prospa announced the raising earlier this week. The group said in a statement that the added funds will be used to help finance additional Australian small businesses and support the lender’s rapid expansion in the local market.

The capital raising is the largest to date by an Australian online lender, according to the group. 

The co-investment is led by Carlyle Group, one of the world's largest private equity firms; Ironbridge Capital; Airtree Ventures and high-profile private investor David Fite.

Prospa’s seed and Series A funder, Entrée Capital, also invested in the round.

“The $60 million capital raising is a great step forward for Prospa,” said Beau Bertoli, joint CEO of Prospa.

“This strategic raising included one of the largest funds and some of the most established technology-focused investors in the world.

“With an estimated $10 billion small business finance market emerging in Australia, we are pleased to be able to service that market by providing small business owners with the funds they need, when they need it, in order to grow their business,” Mr Bertoli said.

Greg Ruddock, joint CEO of Ironbridge Capital said the firm has considered many fintech businesses but Prospa stood out from the crowd as the market leader.

“We are very excited about investing in Prospa to enable them to continue their rapid expansion as well as help the Australian small business economy thrive,” Mr Ruddock said.

“Leveraging technology is key to their growth and we are proud to be the lead investor of this financing round.”

Established in 2011, Prospa has been financing SMEs for four years and has lent over $70 million to date.