Zencap

Zencap was a German company, operating a peer-to-peer lending platform, which allowed private savers to lend money directly to small and medium sized businesses in Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands.[1] Using the crowdfunding model, the company based in Berlin, Germany[2] aimed to create a direct link between private lenders and small businesses seeking loans.[1][3][4][5] As of December 2014, Zencap had facilitated 5 million Euro in loans to small and medium sized firms.[6]

Zencap Global Services
TypePrivate
IndustryFinancial Services, Software
FounderDr. Christian Grobe, Dr. Matthias Knecht
Headquarters
Berlin
,
Germany
Area served
Germany, Spain, The Netherlands
ProductsPeer-to-peer lending
Number of employees
65
ParentRocket Internet
WebsiteOfficial website

In October 2015, the company was merged with Funding Circle, being active on UK and US.[7][8]

Origin

The company, based in Berlin, was founded in March 2014[9][10] by Christian Grobe and Matthias Knecht, with support from Rocket Internet.[1][9][11]

Lending

The business model resembled the US peer-to-peer lending platform Lending Club and UK-based company Funding Circle.[12] Zencap facilitated small business loans from 10,000 to 250,000 euros.[1] Zencap determined whether the borrower was creditworthy and assigned a credit grade that determined the payable interest rate and the fees. Zencap itself charged borrowers a 1% to 4.5% origination fee. The loan period ranged between 6 and 60 months while the loan could be repaid without an early repayment fee at any time.[13] Conditions varied between countries.

Der Tagesspiegel quoted founder Christian Grobe, "We are very strict with the risk assessment."[1] Once approved, businesses posted their loan request on the Zencap marketplace, where private lenders were able to choose which businesses they wanted to lend money to.[14]

Funding Circle acquisition of Zencap

In October 2015, Zencap was acquired by UK based Funding Circle, another lending platform in Europe.[15] Zencap was active in Germany, Spain and the Netherlands.[15] The merge made Funding Circle one of the main peer to business lending leaders in Europe.

See also

References
  1. Neuhaus, Carla (15 June 2014). "Woran Berliner Start-ups arbeiten". Tagesspiegel. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  2. Neuhaus, Carla (15 June 2014). "Woran Berliner Start-ups arbeiten". Tagesspiegel. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  3. Hackmann, Felicitas (7 February 2014). "Zencap is the latest investor-investment matching platform — now with credit, not equity". Human Ipo. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  4. "Rocket Internet's Credit Marketplace Zencap Will Help SMEs Ditch Bank Loans". Human Ipo. 31 March 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  5. "Zencap crea una "nueva alternativa" de financiación para las pymes andaluzas". Retrieved 2015-01-12. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. "Geld leihen von Privatpersonen: 5 Millionen Euro erfolgreich finanziert". Zencap. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  7. "Funding Circle is entering Europe". Business Insider UK. 20 October 2015.
  8. "Funding Circle übernimmt Zencap: Fintechs als Konkurrenz für Banken" (in German). Spiegel. 20 October 2015.
  9. Drost, Frank Matthias (22 May 2014). "Jungunternehmer finanzieren den Mittelstand". Welt. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  10. http://www.deutsche-startups.de/verzeichnisse/startups-a-z/zencap-deutschland-gmbh/
  11. Räth, Georg (31 March 2014). "Das neue Rocket-Startup – Lendico für den Mittelstand". Gruenderszene. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  12. Hesse, Martin (31 March 2014). "David gegen Goliath". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  13. Jarotschkin, Viktor (5 September 2014). "Innovative Mittelstandsfinanzierung mit Zencap". Fuer-gruender.de. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  14. "Start-Up-Schmiede will den Mittelstand finanzieren". Handelsblatt. 30 March 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  15. Scuffham, Matt; Potter, Mark (20 October 2015). "Funding Circle expands into Europe through purchase of Zencap". Reuters (Financials). London. Thompson Reuters. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
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