Czech fintech startup 4Trans is on a mission to transform how logistics and supply chain companies use and access financial products. The company, hitting a niche and much-underserved target market, has just scored €18 million in new funding.
Keeping up with the increasing demand for goods and products to be supplied across Europe is in the realm of supply chain and logistics companies. And it’s a cohort that has had a lot to keep up with recently. From a massive surge in ecommerce demand to supply chain crises and economic uncertainty, small and medium sized hauliers are struggling. An additional burden is a lack of access to finance and slow invoice payments – most existing financial insinuations don’t cater to the specific needs of this group.
Aiming to plug the gap, and fuel better operations for Europe’s hauliers, 4Trans has just secured a fresh €18 million in equity and debt funding from backers including Atmos, Tera Ventures, and Lighthouse. Impact investment fund management firm based in the UK, Advance Global Capital has also extended a revolving credit facility to the firm.
Founded in 2018, the Czech startup provides financial products for small and medium-sized companies operating in supply and logistics. Through its’ AI-driven factoring service, businesses are able to protect their finances by securing payment for their invoices upfront. By using data analysis and automation, 4Trans is able to do instant risk modelling and, as the service is fully digitalised, customers can receive payment of invoices of any size in five minutes – a monumental upgrade from the 3-month average companies currently face.
Jaroslav Ton, CEO of 4Trans, explained: “The supply chain crisis alongside political and economic uncertainty has led to a huge increase in delays to invoices being paid. This has put considerable financial pressure on Europe’s small and medium sized hauliers. Unfortunately, most traditional financial institutions simply do not cater to this group and those that do take too long to provide financing or require very large invoices. We’ve created a range of solutions that give the small and independent entrepreneurs within the European supply chain the protection they need and deserve”.
Clearly, the startup’s service is giving European hauliers a much-needed boost, but don’t just take our word for it. Looking at the numbers the startup is enjoying accelerated growth this year. In 2022, 4Trans’ customer base has grown to 500 and monthly revenue has increased 1–fold on the back of the unfolding supply chain crisis.
The company further reports that to date, it has provided more than €30 million financings, protecting revenue from more than 50k invoices.
Hadi Solh, Managing Partner at deep-tech-focused Atmos Ventures, said: “4Trans is a pioneer in AI-enabled risk assessment in supply chain financing. The speed at which the company is able to understand the real-time credit risk of the counterparties is unparalleled in trade finance-focused solutions in the market. We are confident that our investment will help 4Trans with increasing their international footprint.”
This new funding will be used to strengthen operations within Czechia before expanding to Poland, as well as to develop the platform further and grow the international team.
Michal Zalesak, Co-Founder of Lighthouse Ventures, added: “4Trans have created a solution that tackles a very real problem for Europe’s supply and logistics industry. Namely, there is very little financial protection for hauliers and SMEs”.