São Paulo, November 8, 2023 – Barte, a B2B payments platform, announces the raise of R$20 million through debentures to complement its already extensive credit portfolio. According to the company, the operation is evidence of the growth and maturity of its credit arm and paves the way for diversification of funding sources for this business unit. The debt SPV was structured exclusively to expand lending to customers, an area that has already disbursed R$60 million in 2023 and will close the year above R$100 million.
With this operation, Barte records a total of R$42.5 million raised in just over 12 months. The company previously closed two rounds of equity financing, one in August 2022, totaling R$6.5 million, and another of R$16 million in March 2023, and has now completed a debt capital raise aimed solely at its credit arm. Bamboo DCM acted as the structurer and lead coordinator of this operation.
"Seeking funding through capital markets is not common for fintechs of our size, so this process is a sign of the institutionalisation of the credit originated by Barte. We have always been quite conservative in our risk policies, and yet we managed to grow faster than expected. In March, after our seed round, we wanted to grow 10x in twelve months, but we grew 15x times in just eight," said the co-founder and CEO, Caetano Lacerda.
For Raphael Dyxklay, also a co-founder, "this capital raise marks the beginning of a diversified funding strategy, allowing Barte to continue expanding without facing capital constraints." The platform has seen its client base grow rapidly, with revenues increasing at levels beyond expectations, all without the need for significant increases in staff, as the company currently has 30 employees.
Barte emerged with the goal of addressing two issues related to SMEs: the inefficiency of payment processes in Brazil and limited access to capital. The fintech understands that the complexity of this challenge does not have a simple or immediate solution but rather a gradual construction. "This is why we haven't seen new competitors tackling this problem as comprehensively as we are, end-to-end," explains Dyxklay.
In practice, Barte automates its clients' transactions, whether through PIX, boletos, or credit cards, as well as various processes before and after the actual payment. The idea is for these companies to worry less about managing their cash flow and focus on their core business. On top of that, it is also possible to access credit through the platform based on payments information.
For 2024, Barte estimates growing at least five times, and in the long term, it has plans to change the way businesses transact in Latin America, ensuring that these interactions take the region to another level of efficiency.
