C2FO closes $140M funding round amid record growth, expanded focus on underserved companies

Editor’s note: C2FO is a financial supporter of Startland News’ nonprofit newsroom.

Kansas City fintech powerhouse C2FO grows best when it’s accelerating access to capital for those traditionally underserved by the banking industry, said Sandy Kemper, announcing a $140 million funding round for the Leawood-based company.

Led by Third Point Ventures — a multi-stage investor with a portfolio ranging from the sock brand Bombas to Epic Games and Lyft — the massive equity round also includes Vista Credit Partners and Mubadala Capital. It brings the company’s total institutional funding to $431.5 million and is expected to support C2FO’s expanding product suite and services, which redefines the way companies of all sizes can acquire capital, the company said in a press release.

Such flexibility is highlighted by the $54.7 billion in funding C2FO enabled for businesses worldwide in 2021, an increase of 57 percent over 2020 totals, according to C2FO.

“Our vision has always centered on ensuring every company has access to the capital it needs to thrive, especially small and underserved businesses,” said Kemper, founder and CEO of C2FO. “Our record growth in 2021 is the byproduct of doubling down on this commitment to helping businesses prosper amid rapid change. We continue to make strong strides in our evolution as a company, including investing in innovation, partnerships and the broad global network that make it even easier for businesses to access the financing they need, which will fuel our growth as well.”

In 2021, C2FO’s mission to support companies underserved by the traditional banking system accelerated a record $1.95 billion of funding to more than 1,000 minority- and women-owned businesses in 2021 — a 30 percent increase from 2020. In 2021, minority- and women-owned businesses utilized the C2FO platform to receive funding three times as often as their white- and male-owned peers.

Click here to read more about C2FO’s approach to supporting equity and inclusion efforts in Kansas City.

The fintech company itself — the largest global platform for working capital — accelerated growth in the fourth quarter of 2021, leading to the biggest quarter in C2FO’s history. A total of $18.9 billion of funding was provided by C2FO across all customer bases, a 65 percent increase over the previous year. Additionally, 8,219 new customers were funded in the quarter, 76 percent more than 2020.

Click here to see how C2FO stacked up on Startland News’ 2021 Kansas City Venture Backed Companies list.

“C2FO has built a scalable and innovative solution that offers companies of all sizes and all industries across the globe a better way of accessing working capital,” said Heath Terry, managing director at Third Point Ventures. “As long-time investors in innovative financial services platforms, we recognize C2FO’s potential to disrupt traditional capital distribution channels by offering customers a more flexible and efficient product. We look forward to partnering with the team at C2FO to support the company’s rapid growth.”

Among other 2021 milestones noted by C2FO:

• More companies than ever utilized the C2FO platform to access working capital; at year’s end, more than 46,000 customers had received funding, reflecting a 30 percent year-on-year increase.
• More than 2.3 million invoices, on average, were paid early via the C2FO platform each month, reducing the time it took for companies to receive payment by an average of 32 days.
• C2FO partnered with Marcus by Goldman Sachs to create a new program that provides qualifying businesses with efficient access to financing by embedding Marcus’ digital lending technology and capabilities within C2FO’s platform.
• The company’s global footprint widened in 2021, supporting customers in more than 175 countries, in 75 currencies.

In 2022, C2FO plans to expand its product suite, with additional funding sources for businesses, including a new card product and new funding tools and services, to further improve their ability to access and deploy working capital, the company said. It also expects to announce new key partnerships to further its goal of making access to working capital affordable, transparent, and more equitable.

C2FO previously announced a $200 million round in August 2019, led by Softbank Vision Fund — which also has backed such top names as WeWork, Slack, Uber and DoorDash.

Click here to watch Sandy Kemper, founder of C2FO, discuss fearlessness on diversity and inclusion efforts with Howard Schultz, chairman emeritus of Starbucks, and Carla Harris, a 33-year Wall Street veteran and Morgan Stanley executive.