Alma – the fastest growing BNPL solution raises 210 million euros to support retailers and consumers across Europe
February 17, 2022
Europe
Paris, February 10th, 2022 – Only three years after its launch, Alma, the French financial platform offering installment payments and pay later solutions for merchants and consumers, has just completed a €210 million Series C financing round, of which €115M in equity and
€95M in debt. Existing investors (Cathay Innovation, Eurazeo, Bpifrance via its Large Venture fund, Seaya Ventures, Picus Capital) participated, as well as new investors Tencent, GR Capital and Roosh Ventures. This round will help Alma accelerate the large scale delivery of their products and vision throughout the retail ecosystem in continental Europe.
Alma wants to reinvent the relationship between merchants and consumers: Alma enables the latter to buy what they really want and upgrade to higher-quality items, and the former to convert more customers and increase basket sizes. With more than 6,000 merchants of all industries using Alma, the company’s transaction volume has already exceeded 1 billion euros annually.
“We are creating the most trusted BNPL platform to swing the balance in favor of merchants and consumers” explains Louis Chatriot, co-founder and CEO of Alma, and continues: “We want to be part of consumers’ daily lives and help them shop better, not just more. We strive to be an efficient and sane alternative to traditional consumer credit. It’s equally important for us to improve our merchants’ economics by bringing them new customers in a balanced relationship quite opposite to what we see from large Internet platforms.”
After its success in France, Alma continues its expansion to become the preferred BNPL alternative throughout Europe
This €210 million fundraising will allow Alma to facilitate access to BNPL solutions to more than 270m European consumers, throughout France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Belgium. In 2022, Alma is planning to open new markets especially the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Portugal, Ireland and Austria. This comes at a time when merchants have become fully aware that, by enabling installment and deferred payments, they can capture greater demand, in a market where competition and consumer expectations are continuously growing.
In 2021, Alma focused on expanding its product suite (launching in-store payment terminal-based installments, longer-term financing options, and B2B pay later), as well as kickstarting expansion efforts.
In 2022, Alma will focus on accelerating its international expansion, accompanying existing merchants on their operations abroad, as well as serving larger local merchants. The company has recently onboarded major French retailers and marketplaces as Alain Afflelou,
Etam, Galeries Lafayette, Printemps or Ankorstore. In addition to this, Alma will continue to expand its product suite in particular with its consumer-focused payment application as well as scale existing products such as pay in up to 12 months and B2B payments.
With its expansion in Europe, Alma is doubling its size to support the growth and recently hired Stéphanie Combe, as Head of Finance, and Jonathan Trepo-Lantelme, as Chief Revenue Officer, to strengthen the team.
Major achievements in only 3 years :
- €185M raised in equity
- More than 200 employees
- Operating in 5 countries
- 6,000 merchants
- 1 billion euros transactions over a year
About Alma
Alma helps merchants offer a financing at the point of sale option to their customers, to help them increase their sales and boost customer satisfaction. The payment is guaranteed: the merchant receives the full price at the moment of purchase while the customer pays over time. To date, Alma processes more than one billion euros of transactions annually and supports over 6,000 merchants across Europe. More information on getalma.eu
About Bpifrance and Large Venture
Bpifrance’s equity investments are carried out by Bpifrance Investissement. Bpifrance finances companies – at every stage of their development – in credit, collateral and equity. Bpifrance supports them in their innovation projects and internationally. Bpifrance also ensures their export activity through a wide range of products. Consulting, university, networking and acceleration programs for start-ups, SMEs and ETIs are also part of the offer proposed to entrepreneurs. Thanks to Bpifrance and its 49 regional offices, entrepreneurs benefit from a close, unique and efficient contact to help them face their challenges.
With €1.75 billion, Large Venture is Bpifrance’s venture growth fund dedicated to high-potential technology companies, with the aim of fostering the emergence of French champions, future world leaders in their markets. Large Venture is active in governance and has a long-term vision. It is always in a co-investment approach with a lead or follower positioning. Large Venture participates in fundraising projects of more than €20m with a minimum initial investment of €10m. The fund has already invested in more than 55 companies since its creation in 2013.
More information on : www.Bpifrance.fr – Follow us on Twitter : @Bpifrance – @BpifrancePresse
About Eurazeo
Eurazeo is a leading global investment group with €27 billion of diversified assets under management, including nearly €19.2 billion invested on behalf of third parties in a portfolio of 450 companies. With expertise in private equity, private debt, real estate and infrastructure, the group supports companies of all sizes, leveraging the commitment of nearly 300 employees, its deep sector expertise, its privileged access to global markets, and itsresponsible approach to value creation based on growth. Its institutional and family shareholding and family shareholding, a solid financial structure with no structural debt and a flexible investment horizon enable it to support companies over the long term.
About Cathay Innovation
Cathay Innovation is a global venture capital partnership, created in affiliation with Cathay Capital, investing in startups at the center of the digital revolution across North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Its global platform unifies technology investment across continents, investors, entrepreneurs and leading corporations to accelerate startup growth with access to new markets, invaluable industry knowledge and introductions to potential partners from the start. As a multistage fund with over $1.5 billion assets under management and offices across San Francisco, New York, Paris, Shanghai, Beijing and Singapore, Cathay Innovation partners with visionary entrepreneurs and startups positively impacting the world through technology. To learn more, please visit www.cathayinnovation.com or follow us on Twitter @Cathayinnov.
About Picus Capital
Picus Capital is an international, privately financed venture capital company headquartered in Munich and with offices in New York, Berlin, London and Beijing. Picus predominantly invests in pre-seed, seed and Series A rounds and focuses on technology companies in the real estate, finance and insurance, HR, renewable energy, mobility, e-commerce and healthcare sectors. As an entrepreneurial sparring partner, Picus pursues a long-term investment philosophy and supports founders from the ideation phase to the IPO and beyond. For further information please visit www.picuscap.com.
About Seaya Ventures
Seaya Ventures is a leading European & Latin-American Venture Capital firm based in Spain, investing in value-driven founders who are building global technology companies with a sustainable approach. Since raising its first fund in 2013, Seaya manages €350M across three early-stage funds. Seaya Ventures accelerates startup growth by working with the founders to enhance their strategic vision, putting at their disposal its global platform, its strong network of founders, investors and corporates, as well as Seaya’s experience in scaling leading companies such as Glovo, Cabify, Wallbox (NYSE:WBX), Spotahome, Clarity AI, Clicars and Savana.