LendingFront, a Newark-based small business lending software provider, announced it has raised a $4 million, Series A funding round to help modernize small business lending with a cloud lending software program.
The round will be led by Information Venture Partners. Newark Venture Partners, Revel Partners, Contour Venture Partners will also be participating along with investors Struck Capital, ValueStream Ventures and Las Olas VC.
The funding will be used to provide banks and financial institutions access to LendingFront’s underwriting and SMB credit technology under its end-to-end white label software platform, LendingFront said. It will also be use to expand the company’s sales, marketing and engineering teams.
“Traditional financial institutions need new tools to serve the evolving needs and expectations of small business owners,” Jorge Sun, co-founder and CEO of LendingFront, said. “LendingFront allows banks to compete with technology-based lenders and keep up with the changing regulatory environment.”
Sun, along with Dario Vergara, founded LendingFront to deliver next-generation technology to a wider range of credit providers that serve small businesses, they said.
“Traditional banks are feeling the pressure from online players, and they need new, improved ways to serve today’s entrepreneurs. LendingFront’s sleek platform streamlines an outdated process that was too often unproductive and unprofitable for banks and their clients.” Dan Borok, managing partner at Newark Venture Partners, said.
Dave Unsworth, co-founder and general partner of Information Venture Partners, said there’s a big demand for cloud-based SMB lending platforms.
“We know first hand that legacy lending technology can be cumbersome and inflexible, and often fails to meet the needs of the current market. There is a significant demand for cloud-based SMB lending products – and LendingFront offers incumbents tools that allow them to improve functionality, accessibility and simplicity,” Unsworth said.