Klaro, an AI platform that facilitates access to credit and improves cash flow management for small Italian businesses, has announced that it has completed a €3 million capital increase, fully subscribed by the venture capital fund 360 Capital through its 360 Digitaly fund. The transaction was carried out with the support of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Venture Capital through the Digital Transition Fund – PNRR.
The deal comes just a few months after the launch of the platform, led by Andrea Mignanelli (pictured) and Paolo Verì, and reflects the interest in the issue of financing for small businesses, of which there are over three million in Italy, generating 200 billion euros in added value and employing 11 million people. The funds will be used to continue developing the artificial intelligence-based infrastructure, making it increasingly effective and immediately usable for entrepreneurs and the credit sector: credit guarantee consortia, credit intermediaries, banks and private debt funds.
Klaro’s approach is highly innovative: thanks to the extensive and controlled use of AI and access to reliable data sources (the ‘Cassetto fiscale’, the Revenue and Collection Agency, the Chamber of Commerce, INPS, the Central Credit Register and current accounts), Klaro streamlines the loan application process by gathering all the information required for credit assessment, generating a certified and up-to-date profile – the Klaro Profile – which enhances entrepreneurs’ financial literacy and facilitates dialogue with the credit sector.
This enables banks and intermediaries to carry out secure credit checks in a matter of minutes, rather than weeks, and addresses the need to match credit supply and demand in the Italian context, where – despite the excellent business data infrastructure – bank lending to small businesses has fallen sharply. It is no coincidence that dozens of players in the credit sector have already decided to become partners in the project, just as hundreds of entrepreneurs have obtained a Klaro Profile for their businesses.
“From 2014 to the present day, bank lending to small businesses has fallen from 170 billion euros to 95 billion euros – a drop of 45 per cent,” says Mignanelli in a statement. “And this is despite a business sector that has proved highly resilient in the series of crises that have unfolded over the past 10 years.” With Klaro, we aim to overcome this ‘market failure’: healthy businesses that need credit to grow, and banks that want to invest but lack the information needed to make decisions due to information asymmetry and administrative and regulatory complexity. We are making this process simple and secure: reliable, up-to-date and comprehensive data for banks, and verified transparency for entrepreneurs, who can also improve the management of their cash flow via a single dashboard.”
“Italian SMEs are the driving force behind the country’s economy, yet they continue to face a credit system that fails to assess them properly. Over the past ten years, bank loans to small businesses have almost halved, not because these businesses are any less sound, but because information was not circulating efficiently between those seeking and those offering credit. “Klaro solves precisely this problem: it transforms existing data into a certified, clear and straightforward profile, which speeds up the assessment process from weeks to minutes. It is the kind of digital infrastructure the Italian market has been waiting for,” adds Lucrezia Lucotti, a partner at 360 Capital.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ©
