40Sea’s fintech raises USD 111 million from ZIM and Team8

Israel-based fintech 40Seas has raised USD 111 million consisting of seed funding and a credit facility for exporters and importers.

40Seas is a cross-border trade finance fintech platform and its recent funding success was led by Team8 with participation from ZIM Integrated Shipping Services. The financing effort included a seed round of USD 11 million supplemented by a credit facility of USD 100 million.

Created in partnership with Team8’s Fintech Foundry, 40Seas aims to close the trade finance gap with a product that enables digital B2B payment functionality while supporting cross-border commerce between SMEs.

The company went through a soft launch in October 2022 and has since financed transactions for dozens of SMEs, according to the official press release. The company’s solutions rely on artificial intelligence and data-driven technology to provide flexible payment options that make working capital more accessible to SME importers, exporters, freight forwarders and purchasing agencies.

For example, 40Seas allows exporters to be paid immediately upon shipment, while importers benefit from deferred payment options that can help them free up working capital without having to tie up available lines of credit. Freight forwarders and purchasing agencies can leverage the solution to create new revenue streams, improve their cross-border trade volumes and digitize their B2B payment procedures.

More information about the credit facility

The USD 100 million credit facility is a three-year agreement that was extended by ZIM. It is an accounts receivable-based, senior secured, revolving credit facility that is potentially expandable to USD 200 million.

ZIM will also integrate 40Seas into its digital shipping subsidiary, Ship4wd, with the aim of generating new revenue streams. Through this collaboration, ZIM’s SME customers will gain access to a digital financing solution that can potentially minimize their operational and administrative overhead while solving challenges related to shipping and warehousing expenses.

ZIM officials quoted by prnewswire.com revealed their plans to promote digital innovation in the shipping industry by investing in 40Seas. They also mentioned their partnership with Team8 to help bring this new digital financing solution to market.

40Seas officials quoted by the same source explained how the trade finance landscape has not been able to keep pace with the needs of SMEs operating in the digital era and how SMEs need easy access to finance to have the best chance of survive.

40Seas comes as an API or stand-alone platform, and both versions can be seamlessly integrated into payment gateways to improve ease of use.