The Top Small Business Lending Platform Finalists Named By LendIt

January 20, 2017 | By: deBanked Staff

The LendIt Industry Awards has named six finalists for the Top Small Business Lending Platform. They are:

OnDeck
Kabbage
SmartBiz
StreetShares
Ascentium Capital
iwoca

OnDeck you should know by now. They are publicly traded on the NYSE under ticker ONDK. We last sat down with them in October, shortly before they announced a $200 million credit facility with Credit Suisse.

Kabbage was one of the first online small business lenders to truly experiment with complete automation. In the last year the company has partnered with banking giants Santander and Bank of Nova Scotia.

SmartBiz ranked as the number one provider of non-Express, SBA 7(a) loans under $350,000 for fiscal year 2016. An online platform, they generated $200 million in funded SBA 7(a) loans through its bank lending partners during that period.

StreetShares has a strong focus on funding veteran small businesses. The company is also one of a very few to get approved for Reg A+ under the JOBS Act, which allows them to accept investments from unaccredited retail investors (with some limitations).

Ascentium Capital actually funded nearly $900 million to small businesses in 2016 and was acquired by PE firm Warburg Pincus just a few months ago.

iwoca is based in the UK but also operates in Germany, Spain, and Poland. They offer lines of credit to small businesses up to £100,000 with repayment terms of up to 12 months. Interest rates range from 2% to 6% per month. iwoca has raised £46 million through debt and equity.

According to LendIt, finalists for this category were awarded to the top small business lending platform based on a combination of loan performance, volume, growth, product diversity and responsiveness to stakeholders.

A similar category, the greatest Emerging Small Business Lending Platform also had six finalists. They include: