Partech Ventures has decided to become involved in crowd-funding for SMEs by backing Olivier Goy, an experienced entrepreneur who is the founder of 123Venture.

Partech Ventures had already funded 123Venture when the company was set up. Philippe Collombel, Partech Ventures’ Managing Partner, explains that Olivier Goy “approaches the VSE and SME funding sector with the same determination that has enabled him to change the venture capital landscape”. In fact, 123Venture has turned venture capital into a democratic process for private individuals, by making the company the leader in its field, with over 60,000 private clients and €1.2 billion under management today.

Crowd-funding could become one of the main solutions for funding VSEs and SMEs, which find it hard to obtain funding from the banking sector in France and Europe. At a time when the French Government is leading the way towards a funding revolution in France, thanks to innovative legislation, it is now up to entrepreneurs to invent companies that are capable of meeting VSEs and SMEs’ funding requirements within a secure framework.

In fact, Olivier Goy has set himself the ambitious target of easing financial difficulties for VSEs and SMEs through founding Lendix.

This is why “Lendix is one of the most important company start-ups in 2014”, according to Philippe Collombel.

Philippe Collombel adds that, for Partech Ventures, “Lendix represents an ideal combination between an experienced and highly talented entrepreneur, i.e. Olivier Goy, a very large market (bank loans outstanding to SMEs amounted to over €350 billion in January 2014, according to Banque de France), and an innovative business model.”

The acquisition of this interest is in keeping with the approach of Partech Ventures, which invests in companies that are capable of changing the economy, by shifting the playing field for major sectors. Lendix meets these criteria, and is expected “to have the same disruptive impact as Sigfox, Invensense or Dailymotion, to mention just a few recent examples of companies financed by Partech Ventures” according to Philippe Collombel.

This is Partech Ventures’ third investment in “fintech”, i.e. companies that are transforming the financial sector thanks to technology. In fact, Partech Ventures already has an interest in Auxmoney, the leading peer-to-peer lending platform in Germany, which has already raised over €35 million. Partech Ventures is also the lead investor in Kantox, the UK company that specialises in foreign exchange transactions for VSEs and SMEs and is expanding very rapidly.