TSL Express Daily News

New capital to advance Kafene's growth and expand its delivery of flexible point-of-sale financing to the 100 million-plus Americans with limited access to credit    

NEW YORK, Nov. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Kafene, a fintech company bringing innovation to a key segment of the point-of-sale financing market, has secured $75 million in additional debt and equity to accelerate company growth. The package included a $50 million credit facility from Credit Suisse, a leading global investment bank and financial services firm, with an additional $10 million provided by Hudson Cove Capital Management, an alternative credit asset manager. An additional $15 million was added to Kafene's original Series A investment, bringing the total to $30 million, co-led by equity investors Valar Ventures and Third Prime. The $75 million in capital allows Kafene to scale its retail footprint and significantly expand delivery of its financing platform to the 100 million-plus under-banked U.S. consumers who have limited or no access to credit for often vital purchases.

Nearly 1 in 3 Americans have credit scores that limit their purchasing ability. Kafene's financing platform allows consumers to access financing to purchase appliances, electronics, furniture, and other goods at participating retailers across the U.S. The company offers consumers interest-free BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) options as well as flexible lease-to-own options, both of which can help Kafene's users improve their credit scores.

Kafene has grown exponentially over the last year, a clear sign it is meeting the needs of underbanked consumers and the retailers who serve them.

"We welcome this opportunity to work closely with Credit Suisse, Hudson Cove, and our equity investors," said Neal Desai, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Kafene. "The ability to secure debt financing and equity investment underscores the stability and trajectory of our business. This additional capital will help drive the next phase of our growth strategy."

"Kafene has identified a huge market underserved by traditional lenders and has developed an innovative, cost-effective financing platform to serve it," said Fred Wang, Partner and Portfolio Manager, Hudson Cove Capital Management. "We see strong upside for Kafene's business and have confidence in the team to execute its vision."

"The strength of Kafene's management team, its innovative financing platform and strategic retail footprint offer a compelling business case for growth," said Wes Barton, Managing Partner, Third Prime. "The company is solving the seemingly intractable challenge of profitably serving the underbanked with affordable BNPL and flexible financing options while helping its users build better credit profiles."

For more information on Kafene please visit www.kafene.com.

About Kafene

Kafene is a fintech company bringing innovation to a key segment of the point-of-sale financing market, the underbanked, with interest-free BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) options as well as flexible lease-to-own options. Best-in-class artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies allow Kafene to offer purchasing solutions to these consumers for furniture, appliances, electronics, tires and other goods. Kafene's core product is an easy-to-use, lease-to-own / BNPL platform that underwrites, approves, and enables payment almost instantly. This helps retailers satisfy customer demand and make sales they would otherwise lose. Driving the experience is a suite of custom-built technology at the cutting edge of payment processing, servicing, and underwriting.

Kafene is backed by Third Prime, Valar Ventures, Company Ventures, Global Founders Capital, Uncorrelated Ventures, and other investors. For more information, please visit www.kafene.com and follow Kafene on our LinkedIn page.

About Hudson Cove

Hudson Cove Capital Management is an SEC registered minority-owned asset manager investing in liquid structured credit and asset-based lending strategies based in New Jersey. Since its founding in 2009, Hudson Cove Capital has originated and invested capital in asset-based lending transactions to specialty finance borrowers across a broad range of sectors.

About Third Prime

Third Prime is a venture firm focused primarily on the FinTech, PropTech and Crypto sectors. We invest in world-class entrepreneurs at the earliest stages and support them over the long haul. Our offices are located in New York City and Nashville.

Media Contact:

Tracy Rubin
JCUTLER media group
tracy@jcmg.com