Zencap Global Services
Company 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 Edit this at Wikidata

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]

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][failed verification] 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. ^ a b c d e 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)): 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. ^ a b Drost, Frank Matthias (22 May 2014). "Jungunternehmer finanzieren den Mittelstand". Welt. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  10. ^ "Zencap Deutschland GMBH – Informationen, Zahlen, Fakten und Nachrichten".
  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. ^ a b Scuffham, Matt; Potter, Mark (20 October 2015). "Funding Circle expands into Europe through purchase of Zencap". Reuters. No. Financials. London. Thomson Reuters. Retrieved 24 December 2019.

External links

Peer-to-peer lending
Categories