An innovative move for small- and medium-sized enterprises
Berlin, March 31th, 2014 – Zencap, the first digital credit marketplace for SMEs, starts its business in Germany today. Both small- and medium-sized companies are given the opportunity to receive financing from the Berlin start-up, quickly and hassle-free. Acting as a bridge between both sides, Zencap connects entrepreneurs and private investors – without a detour via banks – and creates a new financial freedom of action for SMEs.
Dr. Christian Grobe, founder and director of Zencap: “About 99% of all companies in Germany are small or medium-sized. In total they reach an annual revenue of 2 billion Euros, which makes them the backbone of the German economy. However, credit financing is a bureaucratic and tedious process that often ends in frustration. In fact, the latest KfW-Panel about medium-sized companies came to the result that 20% of all credit negotiations are doomed to failure. It is our goal to dismantle these barriers by providing an easy and unbureaucratic alternative to banks.”
Zencap helps medium-sized enterprises gain independence from traditional banking.
Not only does this strengthen the negotiation position of smaller businesses but it also benefits them in very concrete ways. Besides affordable conditions, Zencap also offers maximum flexibility, e.g. the opportunity to repay loans early without additional fees. Investors benefit, too: they can diversify their portfolio across five different risk classes and receive returns between 2.3 and 13.9%. As opposed to current accounts, at Zencap investors get interest- and principal repayments on a monthly basis.
Dr. Matthias Knecht, founder and director of Zencap: “We want to enable the entrepreneurial creativity of medium-sized companies and give them the freedom to realize innovative ideas. In our opinion, the keys to this are lean processes, effective risk management and unbureaucratic user-friendly applications. This way, our customers can stop worrying about financing and refocus on what is central: their enterprise.
As the very first credit marketplace for small- and medium-sized companies in Germany, Zencap offers a unique, new source of financing.
How it works:
At Zencap entrepreneurs and investors get together without any detours via banks.
1.Credit application: Entrepreneurs apply for a loan for € 10.000 – € 150.000, with a term of 6 – 60 months on www.zencap.de . The application on the website can be completed in just a few steps.
2.Assessment of creditworthiness: The Zencap risk management team checks the company’s creditworthiness within a few days.
3.Non-binding interest rate offer: In the next step Zencap proposes a non-binding offer based on the company’s risk class and the loan’s term. After accepting the offer, the credit project appears on the Zencap website.
4.Investments by private investors: Investors now have the opportunity to select between different company profiles. An investment begins with 100€.
5.Payout to enterprises: Once a credit project is financed by investors, the credit gets paid out. Only in this case, Zencap receives an agency-fee between 1 – 4.5 %, depending on the credit’s term.
About Zencap:
Zencap ( www.zencap.de ) is the first digital credit marketplace for small- and medium-sized enterprises in Germany. The company was founded in March 2014 und is led by Dr. Christian Grobe and Dr. Matthias Knecht. The driving force behind the company is a team of 35 experts with finance expertise. Based in Berlin, the enterprise is supported by Rocket Internet – the world’s largest internet incubator. Rocket Internet not only founded Zalando, eDarling and Groupon but also several other successful companies all over the world. Currently, Zencap is operating in Germany.