There are approximately 7.3 million small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in South Korea – firms with fewer than 250 employees. Their workforces make up 83.1% of all corporate workers in the country, totaling 17.1 million people, according to OECD data.
Seoul-based fintech startup Korea Credit Data (KCD) said Thursday it has raised $24.7 million in Series D extension financing to help meet the financing needs of SMEs in the country.
Strategic investors – Fiserv, a Nasdaq-listed fintech company and LG Uplus, the telco division of LG Corporation – participated in the extension round. In total, KCD raised $70 million in the Series D round and $112 million since 2016, said KCD CEO Kelvin Dong Kim.
The latest financing values the company at approximately $776 million (1.1 trillion KRW). KCD raised $28.1 million in Series D 1 in November last year, which was valued at $563 million.
The startup aims to address the pain points of small businesses by offering digital financial services, Kim told TechCrunch. In the year In 2017, KCD launched CashNote, an accounting app for small and medium enterprises that helps small and medium enterprise owners keep an overview of cash flow, including income, credit card sales and expenses. The app provides services such as sales ledgers and guidance information for SMEs. It allows small business owners to connect with other entrepreneurs in their community who want to grow their businesses.
Most small and medium-sized business owners with poor credit records often struggle to obtain working capital loans and survive tight cash flows, Kim says. So the startup is adding SME-focused lending services to its platform, connecting MSMEs with access to capital loan programs, Kim said.
KCD has over 1.7 million registered merchants in South Korea and the app has grown into a super app among small and medium business owners.
KCD has acquired South Korean startups ImU, a POS (Point of Sale) service provider and Persona, a government subsidiary alert service for SMEs. The company plans to use the fresh capital 230 to expand its team and make further acquisitions.
Previous backers include KB Kookmin Bank, KB Securities, GS Holdings, KT Investment, Pavilion Capital, Shinhan Card, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, Kakao and Kclavis.
