January 8 (SeeNews) - Romanian online microfinancing start-up Instant Factoring plans to expand to Croatia and other new markets in Central and Eastern Europe this year, aiming to become a regional leader, it said on Tuesday.
Instant Factoring intends to open new branches in Central and Eastern Europe and is targeting at least two countries in 2019, the company said in a press release.
"We will start our regional expansion with Croatia, opening a new office by the first half of the year and we'll open the next one in another country in the region in the second half of the year. We aim to become a regional leader in providing financing to micro-companies and small companies," Cristian Ionescu, Instant Factoring chairman of the board of directors and co-founder, said.
The company's strategic direction for development in 2019 also includes diversification of its financial products.
"We are proposing for 2019 to increase by 300% the volume of financing and to exceed 1000 unique customers. We already benefit from the support of an external investment fund and we plan to continue to attract further investment," Cristian Ionescu said.
Instant Factoring granted over 1,500 financing contracts worth a total of 2.7 million euro ($3.09 million) last year. The average amount of financing for an invoice was 2,100 euro, double compared to the time when the company was launched in April 2018. The company plans to hit operational break-even in the first half of 2019.
In October, Instant Factoring has received 1.5 million euro financing from a United States-based investment fund. The attracted funds, together with the company's equity, will support the expansion of activity on the Romanian market and will also support the expansion of the company in other markets in Central and Eastern Europe.
Instant Factoring facilitates the development of small businesses, providing them with flexible and innovative financing solutions by converting invoiced bills into cash.
Instant Factoring is a fintech online micro-factoring company in Romania dedicated to small companies and micro-enterprises.
It is an IFN registered with the National Bank of Romania.
($=0.8736 euro)