German fintech firm Kreditech raises €10M from Rakuten

Kreditech, a German fintech startup, announced that it has raised EUR 10 million in an equity from Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten. With the investment, Rakuten has joined Kreditech’s outstanding group of backers, including J.C. Flowers and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation.

The company has also announced that Michael Piechalak of the Rakuten FinTech Fund will join Kreditech’s board as an observer, the release stated. Kreditech is also seeking to assess potential collaboration opportunities with Rakuten.

“Rakuten invests directly into our mission to improve financial freedom for the underbanked through technology. In addition to the financial investment, we envision future partnership opportunities. With its strong market position in Asia, Rakuten could be a door opener for us,” Alexander Graubner-Müller, founder, and CEO of Kreditech, said.

The Hamburg-based company said that it wants to utilize the investment to expand its business that partners with other companies to provide lending services. The company launched its Lending-as-a-service feature in spring this year. Kreditech’s POS financing integration is being used by renowned partners like PayU (Naspers).

“Rakuten’s vision for global innovation is about contributing to society through cutting edge technology and entrepreneurship. We are excited about Kreditech because of its unique model of individual empowerment through access to credit across various international markets,” Oskar Mielczarek de la Miel, Managing Partner of the Rakuten FinTech Fund, said. “Kreditech is already widely recognized for its distinctive big-data-driven credit model and tech expertise. Rakuten’s investment will allow them to further expand their unique offering.”