Twinco Capital, with offices in Madrid and Amsterdam, aims to provide a comprehensive supply chain solution to the fashion and retail sectors. The female-led fintech just secured €11 million in funding to support the development of more competitive and socially responsible supply chains, enabling the success of small enterprises.
The €11 million equity and loan round has been completed. Working Capital, Mundi Ventures, and Finch Capital, who were already investors, also contributed to the investment, which was led by Quona Capital. Venture debt was provided by Zubi Capital. The business is also looking to raise $100 million this quarter for a loan facility.
According to reports, there is a $1.7 trillion global trade finance gap that primarily affects small and medium-sized businesses in developing nations. Their capacity to grow, expand and experience more success is hampered.
Twinco, a financial business, aims to address the issue of the retail and fashion industries’ lack of a competitive, easily accessible, and socially responsible supply chain.
Twinco, a company founded by Sandra Nolasco and Carmen Marn, uses technology and data access to evaluate performance risk to finance both small and large suppliers globally.
CEO Sandra Nolasco: “Suppliers need access to affordable finance from the very beginning of manufacturing, starting with the purchase order if we are to have competitive and socially responsible supply chains on a global scale. Unusual occurrences, like those of the past few years, have highlighted the vulnerability of supply chains, which have generally been unable to adjust to the complexity of international production networks.”
Added Sandra Nolasco: “At Twinco, we advocate a fundamental shift in the way that finance is used as a tool to actively reshape global supply chains, encourage SME involvement, increase efficiency, and assure ethical sourcing procedures.
Twinco, which was established in 2019, works with big businesses, mostly in the retail and garment industries, and provides money to their suppliers globally. Twinco advances up to 60% of the purchase order value upfront and pays the remaining amount after delivery.
The procedure is intended to be completely transparent, and painless, and to give suppliers funding for their purchase orders within 48 hours.
Twinco regularly gathers information on the commercial, financial, and ESG performance of the thousands of firms involved in these supply chains, which serves as the foundation for the financing programs. Due to this, Twinco also provides distinctive business intelligence that enables SMEs to make goods sustainably and competitively.
The team behind the fintech believes that the secret to resolving the supply chain financing issue is the use of a distinct risk model. Its concept adds commercial performance and ESG data to the conventional understanding of financial risk. In other words, it assesses the strength and quality of the business ties between buyers and their suppliers using machine learning.
“Suppliers that appreciate human capital and treat their workers well are better businesses, offering a lower risk to their banks and lenders,” says Paarul Dudeja, managing director of the Working Capital Innovation Fund. We’re excited to invest in Twinco because they will evaluate “ESG” risk and take it into account when making investment decisions. We believe this will allow them to expand their areas of impact and achieve greater commercial success.
More than 100 suppliers, situated in 12 different nations, including Bangladesh, China, Pakistan, South Korea, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Spain, have joined Twinco since its 2019 launch.
The company now has initiatives in place that benefit active European and LatAm retailers that purchase more than $10 billion worth of manufactured goods annually, primarily from SMEs in emerging markets. When SMEs around the world need access to affordable liquidity the most—when they receive an order and must begin production—Twinco gives them that opportunity.
The ambitious goals of Twinco can only be met by bringing together all the necessary stakeholders, including investors, suppliers, and buyers, according to COO Carmen Marin. We will be expanding our geographic reach and data capabilities with the help of our new investment. We are also very delighted to introduce the Twinco ESG Tilt, the first supply chain finance program with a sustainable foundation in which business intelligence is directly connected to advantageous funding and purchase terms.
Managing Partner at Quona and co-founder Monica Brand Engel: “Twinco is focusing on a big pain point in the enormous and underserved sector of supply chain finance. We are thrilled to be a part of their mission to provide much-needed and accessible supply chain finance to responsibly fuel the economic advantages of emerging market suppliers. At Quona, we have been quite impressed by the strength of this founding team and its business plan.
Image Credit: Twinco Capital
