Storfund has appointed Worldfirst鈥檚 former global head of enterprise Oliver Whelan as its chief revenue officer.聽
Whelan, who spent almost a decade at the payments giant, will be responsible for accelerating Storfund鈥檚 rapid growth.
Storfund claims to be the only European provider of factoring – immediate payment on sales – to marketplace sellers, an essential service given businesses wait 42 days on average to get paid.
The eCommerce funder is available in 20 countries on the world鈥檚 biggest marketplaces, including Cdiscount, Back Market, PcComponentes, Fyndiq and Amazon.聽
One of the UK鈥檚 fastest-growing FinTechs, it is already turning a profit.聽
The founders took the decision to fund growth from revenue rather than external capital, believing this would create an impact-driven culture: growth would only come if clients saw that its service was worth paying for.
鈥淯nlike its competitors, Storfund has focused on its product and, most importantly, its customers,鈥� said Whelan. 鈥淚t knows why it exists and it hasn鈥檛 forgotten this in the pursuit of growth.
鈥淐ashflow remains the biggest challenge for eCommerce businesses. There are a few startups offering loans to eCommerce sellers, but Storfund is still the only European FinTech to offer working capital in the form of factoring.聽
鈥淭raditional banks, even digital challenger banks, still don鈥檛 understand the eCommerce sector. Storfund鈥檚 potential is immense.鈥�
Storfund has doubled the financing it provides every year for the past three years, while last autumn it announced that it had put in place financing which would enable it to provide up to 拢5 billion each year to eCommerce businesses.聽
The next few years will be all about expansion through partnerships with fast-growing marketplaces across Europe, Asia and the Americas.聽
鈥淥liver is the right person at the right time,鈥� said Akbar Ahsan, co-founder. 鈥淣ot only does he have an enviable track record and a vast network, he鈥檚 also the right cultural fit.聽
鈥淗e has an entrepreneurial mindset and gets our mentality of rolling your sleeves up and getting stuck-in, but he also brings the discipline and process-driven thinking that large corporations instil, which will be crucial as our international operations expand even further.鈥�