Zencap
Digital lending marketplace connecting individual investors to small and medium sized businesses.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | investor | €0.0 | round |
| investor | €0.0 | round | |
* | N/A | Acquisition | |
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
| EUR | 2015 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenues | 0000 | 0000 |
| EBITDA | 0000 | 0000 |
| Profit | 0000 | 0000 |
| EV | 0000 | 0000 |
| EV / revenue | 00.0x | 00.0x |
| EV / EBITDA | 00.0x | 00.0x |
| R&D budget | 0000 | 0000 |
Source: Company filings or news article
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Zencap was a German financial technology company that operated a peer-to-peer lending platform connecting private investors with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The Berlin-based firm was founded in March 2014 by Dr. Christian Grobe and Dr. Matthias Knecht. Both founders were previously consultants at McKinsey & Company, where they gained experience in the banking and insurance sectors. This background provided them with insights into the inefficiencies of traditional banking, which led to the creation of Zencap as a digital alternative for business financing.
The company's business model was centered on its online marketplace, which facilitated unsecured loans for SMEs ranging from €10,000 to €250,000 for terms of 6 to 60 months. Zencap's platform handled the credit assessment, assigning a risk grade to each borrower which determined the interest rate. Revenue was generated by charging borrowers an origination fee that ranged from 1% to 4.5% of the loan amount. For investors, the platform offered the opportunity to lend directly to businesses and earn attractive returns, with a minimum investment of €100.
Within its first 18 months, Zencap facilitated over €35 million in loans to more than 500 businesses across Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands. This rapid growth, supported by incubator Rocket Internet, positioned Zencap as a significant player in the continental European fintech market. In a strategic move to expand its global footprint, UK-based peer-to-peer lender Funding Circle acquired Zencap in October 2015. Following the acquisition, Zencap was rebranded as Funding Circle Europe, and its founders, Grobe and Knecht, took on leadership roles within the merged entity before eventually founding their next fintech venture, Billie.
Keywords: Zencap, peer-to-peer lending, SME financing, business loans, fintech, online marketplace, crowdfunding, Christian Grobe, Matthias Knecht, Rocket Internet, Funding Circle, P2P lending, small business loans, alternative finance, debt financing, credit marketplace, Berlin startup, German fintech
