Polish fintech startup BidFinance has raised €1.6 million in funding from 4growth VC, FundingBox, and a group of business angels.
👯 Founders: Eugene (Zenia) Karastoyanov
📅 Founding year: 2022
🏭 Industry: Fintech / Debt Trading
💥 Problem: The traditional debt portfolio trading process is fragmented, non-transparent, and lacks standardization and digitization, leading to low sale prices and inefficiencies.
📣 Solution: A digital auction platform that connects sellers and buyers of debt portfolios, providing transparency, competition, and better pricing through real-time bidding.
👥 Customers: Banks, loan companies, telecoms, leasing firms, energy companies (sellers); collection agencies, investment funds, law firms (buyers).
🌱 Stage: Growth / Early International Expansion
💰 Investment amount: €1.6 million
🚀 Funded by: 4growth VC, FundingBox Deep Tech Fund, group of business angels
👁️🗨️ Investor’s perspective:
“BidFinance has built a tech-driven solution that digitizes and improves the efficiency of debt sales. With strong early validation and an ambitious team, they’re well-positioned to become a category leader internationally.” — Tomasz Biłous, Managing Partner at 4growth VC
💡 It will be spent on: Strengthening position in Poland, accelerating international expansion (starting with Nordic countries), and further platform development
💬 In their own words:
“After listing a debt portfolio on our platform, a client saw prices jump from 15% to 26% of value. Some auctions increased prices by over 80%. That’s the power of transparency and competition.” — Zenia Karastoyanov, CEO
💪 Their specialty: Real-time auction model that connects nearly the entire buyer market and maximizes seller outcomes while lowering buyer barriers.
🔑 Business model: Transaction-based fees from debt portfolio trades via the platform.
👩🏫 Market:
- Poland: PLN 12.6B debt trading market
- Europe: EUR 70–80B from banks + EUR 15–20B from non-bank institutions
📊 Traction:
- 70+ transactions
- Over PLN 1.2B in listed portfolios
- 70 active buyers (90% of the Polish market)
- Increased trading frequency for sellers on the platform
