Komerční banka in the Czech Republic is once again strengthening its cooperation with the successful Czech fintech Lemonero. This startup provides fast and flexible operational financing to SMEs based on using data and AI. Lemonero confirmed its ability to successfully expand by quickly entering the Netherlands market and is receiving support for its further growth from Komerční banka. In this way, the common goal that both companies have set – to become a significant European player in the e-commerce market in B2B financing – is gradually being fulfilled.
In October 2020, Komerční banka invested in Lemonero, which was still in the early stage of development at that time, and gradually acquired a 25% stake in it. This partnership aims to fundamentally change the way SMEs obtain operational finance. Komerční banka is now increased its stake in the company for the third time to 29%. Thanks to this investment, Lemonero can strengthen its position in Benelux, focus on expansion into the DACH (or German-speaking countries) and CEE regions, and develop new products such as AI-cashflow analytics. To ensure growth and access to other European markets, Komerční banka is prepared to support startups again in the future, not only investment-wise.
“There are several reasons why is Lemonero a great partner for Komerční banka. We perceive the field of e-commerce and business financing as a sector that is constantly gaining importance, and its share is growing at a significant pace every year. In particular, we see SMEs, or even emerging businesses, as important and mature for the fintech revolution in financing. Our aim at Komerční banka is to go beyond the limits of common banking services and provide our customers with a complete ecosystem of digital products and services that will also be simple and user friendly,” – said David Formánek, Member of the Board of Directors at Komerční banka.
Through its digital platform, Lemonero provides financing that online merchants repay in a traditional way of monthly installments. It has recently introduced a second method, the so-called revenue-based financing. Its main advantage is installments are automatically charged from each completed transaction. Repayment is therefore directly linked to the business’s turnover and does not burden its performance, for example, in the off-season. Lemonero offers this solution as a ready-made so-called embedded financing solution on other foreign markets. Since the last investment round, Lemonero has grown by more than 300% year-on-year and still maintains a high retention rate of over 74%. It also expanded its team to nearly 50 members and is now starting to provide financing for brick-and-mortar offline businesses and brick-and-mortar stores through POS and payment terminals. On the Czech and Slovak markets, for example, in cooperation with GoPay. In Holland, the Czech, and Slovak markets, Lemonero cooperates with thousands of SMEs.
“Almost 70% of SMEs are interested in financial services integrated directly into the environment of the platform they most often use for their business. At the same time, 80% of them suffer from a lack of investment and operating capital. In Benelux, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, we proved that we can effectively solve this problem and thus help the SMBs of the market as a whole. The total potential of embedded financing on the global market is up to USD 3.6tn by 2023. Our vision is to fulfill this potential and help SMEs to grow,” – claims Jan Laštůvka, Founder and CEO at Lemonero.
The rapid development of the company happened with the great help of Komerční banka and the support of its subsidiary KB Smart Solutions. The latter enabled the establishment of successful partnerships with important e-commerce players abroad – CCV Shop and Lightspeed, on the Czech and Slovak markets – the largest payment gateways already using revenue-based financing, GoPay, and Comgate, or the largest local e-commerce marketplace Alza and Mall. Through KB Smart Solutions, Komerční banka aims to bring a technological and product revolution to the banking sector and participate in building the banking of the future. Lemonero can arrange a loan within ten minutes for startups or businesses that need capital for further growth or just to cover a momentary shortfall in cash flow. The entire process works online, including signing the agreement and managing the loan. Lemoner’s goal is to continue to strengthen its position in Benelux and expand to other Western countries of the DACH and CEE regions.
Source: The press release by Komerční banka and KB SmartSolutions dated June 30, 2023
