We’re building the SMB credit infrastructure, ready to scale our successful model🚀

<aside> 1️⃣

The opportunity is massive & the moment to ride the 🌊 is here.

• B2B invoices financing is an untapped and growing market. In France alone, B2B invoice outstanding is 700b€. And it’s 3.2T€ in the EEA.
• While only 15% of the market is currently financed by banks (mainly factoring and overdraft), there’s a unique opportunity to do things differently now:
  • Distribution Evolution: from traditional banking to embedded finance, which is projected to grow to $7.2 trillion by 2030. This presents a unique opportunity to deliver financial solutions integrated into everyday business operations.
  • Proliferation of APIs. The transition from manual credit assessments to automated solutions via open banking is accelerating, especially with the upcoming e-invoicing directive paving the way for improved data access.
  • Emergence of LLMs & AI automation. Traditional banks struggle with a high cost-to-income ratio. GenAI technology can streamline middle and back-office processes, replacing manual efforts with AI agents, resulting in significant efficiency gains. </aside>

<aside> 2️⃣

Yet, many lending startups have fumbled; here’s why:

• scalability and efficiency. Huge CAC due to direct distribution channels. While companies grow, the operations don’t scale, resulting in growing teams of compliance, risk analysts, payment ops and support people. Looking at Linkedin is a good proxy for that.
• perceived value by customers. These companies tend to face banks in terms of marketing, hence entering into a price race that they cannot win. Digitalizing an underwriting process is not enough to radically change the user experience. This results in lower recurrence and lower LTV.
• compliance. Fintechs ****often choose not to own compliance, which creates conversion issues, friction in UX, and ultimately distrust. </aside>

<aside> 3️⃣

Our execution is different & has yielded industry-record results.

In less than 3 years we…

• originated 660M€+
• to 10,000 SMBs
• in 5 geographies
• through 15 embedded partners
• resulting in €10M in annualized revenue
• with a team of 25 people.

Guided by our deep banking and SaaS DNA, we've made a strategic choice to:

• own the value chain but avoid distractions. We believe that, to really disrupt financial services, we need to own the key aspects of it. That’s why we rebuilt a scoring algorithm to own underwriting (instead of relying on a credit insurance company), we got our license from the ACPR, and infused AI in servicing processes.
• invest in brand-led growth and indirect distribution over traditional demand generation, which is much more defensible, efficient, and increases trust with good customers. To date we drive 55% of new biz from WOM.
• work with the system, not against it. Fintechs ****are making the mistake to position themselves against incumbents. We believe that banks should own the balance sheet and large bespoke products, while fintechs should own the user experience (including compliance) with highly personalized customer management at scale. </aside>

<aside> ⚡

Our embedded GTM & suite of products acts as an efficient flywheel and provides defensibility in our business model.

Positioned as the Stripe of Lending we’ve built a scalable distribution strategy that embeds Defacto into every SMB invoice financing workflow, maximizing revenue potential and expanding reach with each financing event. Our approach continuously improves our algorithm and expertise in SMB lending.

This foundation also makes Defacto an ideal partner for banks who ultimately own the keys to crack SMB lending at scale.

➡️ By maintaining a direct lending arm with a recognized brand, we not only drive strong word-of-mouth but remain relevant as the first users of our own infrastructure. This means we manage the complexities of compliance, leverage our balance sheet, and create a streamlined servicing model that accelerates all three of our distribution pathways.

➡️ Our API-first model allows seamless integration into partner platforms, amplifying two essential growth drivers: data network effects and faster customer acquisition.

</aside>

<aside> 🤖

Our proprietary model & flexible infrastructure gives us an edge from acquisition to upsell.

</aside>

<aside> 🤘🏼

We plan to capture 1% of the French market in 3 years

Going further, we want to accelerate on building this unique model of being both a lending business and an infrastructure player

• We want to position Defacto as a pan-European, highly profitable and regulated lending company, that finances B2B transactions through embedded experiences
• While deploying our infrastructure to financial institutions, and offer them AI-infused technology and servicing, to ultimately improve their customer satisfaction and margins.
• increasing yearly origination from €400 million in 2024 to €5 billion, with 40% of growth driven by infrastructure offerings.
• in order to generate 125M€ ARR, 34M€ EBIDTA, and >30% forward RoE 💸 </aside>