Accel Partners, Sequoia India and others have pumped US$25 million into the fintech-based trade financier Drip Capital in series B funding.

With this, the Palo Alto-and Mumbai-based company has raised U$45 million in equity and $55 million in debt, taking the total funding to $100 million.

The other investors who joined the latest round of funding include Wing VC and Y Combinator, along with Sequoia which are all existing investors, Drip Capital said in a statement Wednesday.

The current round of funding also has two other new investors--GC1 Ventures and institutional investor platform Trusted Insight, it added.

"The new fund will be used for global expansion over the next 12-18 months. Apart from India, we are already present in Mexico and the UAE and now we are looking to enter Southeast Asia as well," Drip Capital co-founder and co-chief executive Pushkar Mukewar said.

The company will use a part of the fresh capital in technology and expand its sales and marketing team, he said,
adding globally, it employs 120.

Mukewar said the company has already funded over USD 500 million worth of trade to 400 exporters its entry into the country in 2016.

"By FY20, we aim to fund USD 1 billion of trade originating from the country," he said. It offers exporters a credit line ranging from USD 0.1 million to USD 2.5 million through both unsecured and unsecured route.

Drip Capital uses technology to provide working capital to small companies and entrepreneurs who account for 50 percent of merchandise exports from the country and employ tens of millions.

Globally, he claimed there is a trade finance gap of USD1.5 trillion globally, the majority of which is among small business exporters in emerging markets, which means so much of trade potential is foregone for lack of funding.

The company focuses on 10 industry segments such as agro commodities, readymades and industrial goods, and stay away from gems & jewellery and perishables (fruits and vegetables), Mukewar.

Trade finance is a paper-based industry dominated by banks that primarily focus on large, established corporate customers. As against this, it uses electronic data and technology to underwrite and finance cross-border B2B deals.

Drip Capital has strategic partnerships with many key export promotion organizations, including the Federation of Indian Export Organizations and the Engineering Export Promotion Council. PTI HV
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