In a nutshell:
- Czech fintech startup Flowpay, using predictive AI models, automation, and embedded finance, raised €2.1M in a seed round.
- The round was led by Techstars, alongside Czech VCs like Soulmates Ventures and DEPO Ventures, and angel investors such as Mark Ransford, Martin Herrmann, Kartik Varma, Allard Luchsinger, and others.
- This new investment will allow Flowpay to scale beyond the Czech Republic, enhance its technological capabilities and offer its services to a wider range of SMEs.
Their background story:
Flowpay, founded in 2021 by William Jalloul, serial entrepreneur, investor, and finance expert, aims to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) access better operational funding. The company provides a dedicated platform with the implementation of AI, which automates the process, and enables companies to obtain financing based on the analysis of real operational data. Flowpay’s main goal is to provide SMEs with the services and products they need to grow.
Alongside six other European startups, Flowpay was accepted to the IBM fintech program, which focuses on accelerating the adoption of generative AI in financial services. The team currently consists of approximately 15 experts, primarily from the fields of Data Science and IT.
In their own words:
“Even if you have a profitable and fast-growing business, banks might still not give you a loan when you need it for something like stocking up your warehouse or investing in advertising. Banks cannot assess risk precisely and usually just look at tax returns, which are outdated and most often do not reflect reality. At Flowpay, we work with client data taken directly from their point-of-sales systems, e-commerce platforms like Shoptet, and use AI to rate their potential to obtain financing. We want to help SMEs grow with our Risk as a Service (RaaS) solution and license it to financial institutions around the world,” explains William Jalloul, founder and CEO of Flowpay.
Investors’ perspective:
“Borrowing money and going into debt can be unsustainable. To address this challenge, Flowpay has introduced a key innovation for SMEs, which make up an undeniably crucial segment of the economy. We consider our investment to back the development of a revolutionary and accurate scoring and credit assessment tool to be a huge step in supporting sustainable business growth. Flowpay shortens the time needed to evaluate credit applications to mere minutes, increases the accuracy of risk assessment, and speeds up access to finance for SMEs. This approach represents a revolution in financing, supports dynamic growth, and contributes to the sustainable prosperity of our economy,” says Hynek Sochor, founder of the accelerator and fund Soulmates Ventures.
Next steps:
Flowpay’s plans include both expansion to new markets and further technological development. The new investment will also enable the company to increase its capacity to offer personalized credit solutions. Moreover, Flowpay plans to increase the number of its team members.
