By Max Kaplan-Zantopp, NoCamels
Viola Credit, the alternative credit asset manager of Israel’s largest technology investment house Viola Group, announced on Thursday the final closing of its Alternative Lending Income Fund II (ALF II) with US$700 million of investable capital.
“ALF II will provide minimally dilutive asset-based lending capital solutions to emerging and established global fintech, prop-tech, and insurance-tech companies that are disrupting traditional financial markets,” according to the announcement.
ALF II will also continue to provide asset-backed lending transactions for fintech platforms to scale up their origination business by partnering with fintech platforms that disrupt traditional lending sectors across the US, western Europe, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. As of the final close, the fund has already aimed more than 40 per cent of its capital commitments and plans to partner with 13-15 additional fintech platforms.
“We’re excited to launch an additional Alternative Lending Income Fund,” said founder and general partner at Viola Credit, Ruthi Furman. “We’ve deployed over US$1.1B to date under this strategy and have partnered with over 15 promising platforms. We’re excited to launch an additional Alternative Lending Income Fund to continue supporting this growing fintech ecosystem globally.”
Due to the current digital transformation of financial markets and the rise of non-band and alternative lending companies, global fintech funding reached a record US$132 billion in 2021, and the number of global fintech unicorns shot up to 235, a 108 percent increase from 2020. In 2021 alone, fintech lenders originated in excess of US$120 billion in loans.
“Financial services are undergoing transformational shifts”, said general partner at Viola Credit, Ido Vigdo. “This fintech revolution, driven by acceleration of digital adoption and emergence of new business models, enables new forms of banking experience and consumer financial services, which requires securing of lending capital solutions to support growth. We pride ourselves on partnering with innovative fintech platforms to nurture them as a company, help them build their products, and be an essential part of their go-to-market strategy.”
