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By investing €2.5 million in Unilend, the fund makes its third investment in a highly promising industry and provides the company with the necessary resources to enter a new phase in its development. Accordingly, working alongside the founders of Unilend, NewAlpha joins a solid and motivated shareholder base comprising Ventech, Bpifrance and 360 Capital Partners.

The French pioneer in Peer-to-business lending for SMEs, Unilend lets borrowers access a new form of simple, direct and unsecured funding via loans granted by individual and institutional investors. In so doing, these investors can diversify their investment portfolio by lending directly to SMEs and help to finance the economy.

Thanks to a community of 10,600 active lenders in France, which exceeds that of all other platforms combined, Unilend has made it possible to fund more than 270 French SMEs across all economic sectors, within less than three years. In July 2016, Unilend was the first lending platform to raise more than €20 million through P2P lending only.

The financing requirements of small and medium-sized French enterprises are estimated at €90 billion per year. Estimated at €200 million in 2015, the French loan-based crowd-funding market is seeing strong growth in 2016 and boasts significant development potential in light of the sums raised in the United Kingdom (€4.5 billion) and in the United States (€15 billion).

"A platform's quality is determined based on the quality of the loans originated online and its ability to handle substantial transactions, while also developing a proactive relationship with its community of lenders and borrowers,” said Lior Derhy, Managing Director responsible for Private Equity at NewAlpha. “Unilend offers all of these aspects, together with a team, shareholders and technology able to ensure its development, in particular among institutional investors.”

Nicolas Lesur, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Unilend, added the following: "The equity investment of a leading player in the world of finance acknowledges Unilend's commercial and technological success, and demonstrates the solidity of its credit analysis model. As such, NewAlpha's investment confirms the validity of Unilend's strategic choices and the platform's growth potential with institutional investors."

Jean Bourcereau, partner at Ventech Capital and long-standing investor with Unilend, made the following comment: "Beyond the amount invested, NewAlpha's stake in Unilend is first and foremost a strategic and industrial partnership that will enable Unilend to step up its development while relying on NewAlpha's extensive expertise in the entrepreneurial and institutional financial industry."

"We are creating bridges between entrepreneurs in the financial industry and institutional players," concludes Antoine Rolland, President of NewAlpha.

Subscribed by institutional investors, in particular the Crédit Mutuel Nord Europe Group, the fund managed by NewAlpha aims to build and enhance a diversified investment portfolio in innovative Fintech and Insurtech companies. It also aims to ensure the active monitoring of developments in financial services (innovative initiatives, new uses) and of technological changes that affect banking, insurance and asset management business lines.