UK high street bank Barclays has become the highest profile investor so far in Stenn, a UK-based online trade finance provider.
The latest round of financing involved Barclays as well as French insurer Coface and US hedge fund Crayhill Capital Management and it brings the total investment in the Stenn Assets Funding platform to $500m.
It also comes just weeks after another round of fund raising involving European fund managers such as Natixis, NN Investment Partners and M&G brought in $200m in capital.
According to Stenn, the fund raising has been concentrated in order to cater for greater demand for online cross-border trade finance during the current Covid-19 pandemic.
The added capacity means Stenn is well-positioned to offer more businesses access to trade finance at a time when working capital is scarce, said the company.
Greg Karpovsky, Founder of Stenn, commented: "We’re seeing supply chains at risk of breaking down due to the coronavirus pandemic," said Greg Karpovsky, Stenn founder. "Companies had to deplete liquidity reserves to get through lockdown and are now in need of working capital to reignite their business.
"This funding comes at a crucial time for the firms we support and the participation of such high-quality investors in this programme expansion affirms our strategic vision to inject liquidity into global supply chains."