NAB’s venture capital fund, NAB Ventures, has led a US$24 million (AU$32 million) Series D funding round in Toronto-based cloud fintech company, Wave.
Wave delivers cloud-based financial management software including accounting, invoicing, and payroll with seamlessly integrated financial services such as credit card processing and lending.
Targeting entrepreneurs with fewer than 10 employees, Wave has over two and a half million small business customers in more than 200 countries around the world, including more than 35,000 active users in Australia.
The Series D funding round also includes funding from Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Silicon Valley venture firms CRV and Social Capital, global funds OurCrowd and Harbourvest, as well as Canadian investors OMERS Ventures, BDC IT Venture Fund, BDC Capital and Portag3.
Commenting on the equity investment, General Partner NAB Ventures, Melissa Widner, said: “We’re looking forward to working with Wave, which has developed an interesting approach to cloud software and financial services aimed at small businesses with under 10 employees.
“We were impressed with how Wave’s offering gives entrepreneurs the tools they need to be successful, along with the fact their invoicing and accounting software are free with customers able to purchase additional financial services to suit their requirements as needed.
“As the largest business bank in Australia with over 450,000 small and medium business customers, we are interested in any emerging technologies in this space that provide customers with a connected experience.”
NAB Ventures has the right to appoint an observer to the Wave board.
Wave Co-Founder and CEO, Kirk Simpson, said: “At Wave we believe that the way to help small businesses succeed is with powerfully integrated financial services and software. By helping business owners manage their cash flow, prepare for tax time and gain actionable business insights, Wave covers the spectrum of a small business owner’s financial life, and helps their businesses grow and thrive.
“We all know that small businesses power the global economy, and nobody understands Australian small businesses better than NAB. We look forward to exploring together how to serve those business owners better.
“We also believe that innovative partnerships between technology companies and world-class banks will lead to transformative solutions in the market. In NAB and RBC, Wave has forward-looking, innovative bank partners on two continents, opening the door to those transformations,” he said.
For more information on Wave, visit www.waveapps.com.
-About Wave-
Wave is changing the way small businesses make money, spend money and track money. Wave delivers cloud-based financial management software with seamlessly integrated financial services to business owners around the world. Over 2.5 million business owners around the world have used Wave to help manage their finances, and over 60,000 new businesses join the Wave ecosystem every month. For more information, visit www.waveapps.com.
