Swiss i2 group partners with agricultural financing marketplace HeavyFinance to provide more access to finance for small and medium farms. This cooperation enables professional and institutional investors of i2 group’s partner funds to invest in loans allocated through the HeavyFinance platform.
After signing the agreement, i2 group invested over €500.000 through the agricultural loan marketplace with plans for further investments.
HeavyFinance has funded over €12 million euros in loans as of the end of November, adding €1,5 million - €2 million every month. As the demand for agricultural financing increases, the company has broadened its investor base to include institutional investors. i2 group - together with its partner funds - is the first institutional investor to start investing in the marketplace with other firms to join in the following year.
"The partnership with i2 group will allow HeavyFinance to grow at a much faster rate, which also facilitates a broadening of offerings to both our investors and borrowers. The increase in available capital also allows us to finance larger loans in more jurisdictions", explains Laimonas Noreika, CEO and founder of HeavyFinance. "Institutional investors require a thorough due diligence, thus, i2 group joining us also provides more trust for retail investors".
Due to the rapid growth of the company, institutional capital is not expected to affect the average interest rate on the platform, which currently is over 11,6%. Retail investors will have equal opportunity to invest in each loan. More specifically, each loan will be funded by both sources if possible.
"We have integrated HeavyFinance's loan portfolio into our software environment, which allows for effortless integration into any portfolio of our current and future customers. We will be able to provide our customers with the high-quality, standardized payment and loan data they expect, significantly increasing liquidity in this important part of the market" said Gregor Stadelmann, CEO and co-founder of i2 group.
10 million underfinanced farms
The company currently originates loans in Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, and Portugal, where a combined market gap for agricultural loans corresponds to at least €1,4 billion. According to the Fi-Compass report by the European Commission, the total market gap in the European Union is between €19,8 to €46,6 billion. This amount represents the need for around 10 million farms and would increase if subsidies were to shrink or were to be reduced.
"There is an outstanding small and medium farm financing gap in Europe and a robust investor appetite for high-yield investment products. HeavyFinance is in a unique position and timing to take advantage of these two trends and become a leader in agricultural financing," says Laimonas Noreika.
A Vilnius-based startup was founded in 2020 and raised more than €400.000 from business angel investors and an international startup accelerator Startup Wise Guys.
About i2 group
Founded in 2017, Switzerland-based i2 group’s service offering makes digital lending opportunities accessible to institutional and professional investors and asset managers by providing software, structuring, issuing, and advisory solutions and services. The growing team of i2 group consists of financial, IT, and legal experts that assist finance professionals and financial institutions in creating unique digital lending-based investment offerings and products. i2 group serves multiple digital lending funds and products for asset managers in Europe.
