NAB Ventures invests into Canadian fintech targeting small business
(30 May 2017 – Australia) National Australia Bank’s (NAB) venture capital arm, NAB Ventures, has led a US$24 million (A$32 million) Series D funding round in Toronto-based cloud fintech company, Wave.
According to blog post from the Australian lender, Wave “delivers cloud-based financial management software including accounting, invoicing, and payroll with seamlessly integrated financial services such as credit card processing and lending.”
Targeting businesses with fewer than 10 employees, Wave boasts more than two and a half million small business customers in more than 200 countries around the world, including more than 35,000 active users in Australia.
This funding round also saw investment from Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Silicon Valley venture firms CRV and Social Capital, global funds OurCrowd and Harbourvest, as well as Canadian investors OMERS Ventures, BDC IT Venture Fund, BDC Capital and Portag3.
General Partner NAB Ventures, Melissa Widner, said: “We’re looking forward to working with Wave, which has developed an interesting approach to cloud software and financial services aimed at small businesses with under 10 employees.
“We were impressed with how Wave’s offering gives entrepreneurs the tools they need to be successful, along with the fact their invoicing and accounting software are free with customers able to purchase additional financial services to suit their requirements as needed.
“As the largest business bank in Australia with over 450,000 small and medium business customers, we are interested in any emerging technologies in this space that provide customers with a connected experience.”
Wave Co-Founder and CEO, Kirk Simpson, added: “At Wave we believe that the way to help small businesses succeed is with powerfully integrated financial services and software. By helping business owners manage their cash flow, prepare for tax time and gain actionable business insights, Wave covers the spectrum of a small business owner’s financial life, and helps their businesses grow and thrive.
“We all know that small businesses power the global economy, and nobody understands Australian small businesses better than NAB. We look forward to exploring together how to serve those business owners better.
“We also believe that innovative partnerships between technology companies and world-class banks will lead to transformative solutions in the market. In NAB and RBC, Wave has forward-looking, innovative bank partners on two continents, opening the door to those transformations,” he said.
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