Coronavirus Pushes German Fintech Monedo to Go Bankrupt

Monday, 14/09/2020 | 11:46 GMT by Arnab Shome
  • The startup was once a high-flying fintech in the country.
  • Previously, the startup harvested public data to evaluate the risks of potential customers
Coronavirus Pushes German Fintech Monedo to Go Bankrupt
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Monedo, a well known German Fintech startup, could not recover from the impact of Coronavirus on its business and filed for bankruptcy last week.

As reported by the local news outlet, Manager Magazin, the startup has appointed Dr Christoph Morgen, a lawyer at the Hamburg law firm, Brinkmann & Partner, to handle the proceedings of the insolvency. The company applied for 'preliminary bankruptcy' at a German court last week.

Previously known as Kreditech, the fintech was established in 2012 and was offering microcredit loans to customers all around Europe and also outside. However, it could not offer its services to German customers. The startup harvested publicly available data to evaluate the risks of approaching potential customers, which is illegal in Germany. With Spain and Poland being its largest customer base, the startup was struggling to find a viable business model despite its meteoric rise in the industry.

Earlier this year, it rebranded itself and changed its strategy to focus on the algorithm to grant loans. However, that did not work out and adding the impact of the stalling economy due to COVID-19, it could not survive.

A Heavily Backed Fintech

Monedo is heavily backed by popular tech investors, including billionaire, Peter Thiel, the bank investor of JC Flowers, and media giant, Naspers. According to Crunchbase, the startup raised over $519 million over the years.

Notably, the valuation of the fintech deflated from €200 million (around $237 million) to zero after it was revealed that the company handed out credit to private individuals in India and Russia that turned into default. “I plan to continue operations and have already started talks with possible financiers,” Morgen told Sifted. “It is my goal to bring the investor process, which was started before the insolvency application and according to Monedo management looks promising, to a successful conclusion.”

Monedo, a well known German Fintech startup, could not recover from the impact of Coronavirus on its business and filed for bankruptcy last week.

As reported by the local news outlet, Manager Magazin, the startup has appointed Dr Christoph Morgen, a lawyer at the Hamburg law firm, Brinkmann & Partner, to handle the proceedings of the insolvency. The company applied for 'preliminary bankruptcy' at a German court last week.

Previously known as Kreditech, the fintech was established in 2012 and was offering microcredit loans to customers all around Europe and also outside. However, it could not offer its services to German customers. The startup harvested publicly available data to evaluate the risks of approaching potential customers, which is illegal in Germany. With Spain and Poland being its largest customer base, the startup was struggling to find a viable business model despite its meteoric rise in the industry.

Earlier this year, it rebranded itself and changed its strategy to focus on the algorithm to grant loans. However, that did not work out and adding the impact of the stalling economy due to COVID-19, it could not survive.

A Heavily Backed Fintech

Monedo is heavily backed by popular tech investors, including billionaire, Peter Thiel, the bank investor of JC Flowers, and media giant, Naspers. According to Crunchbase, the startup raised over $519 million over the years.

Notably, the valuation of the fintech deflated from €200 million (around $237 million) to zero after it was revealed that the company handed out credit to private individuals in India and Russia that turned into default. “I plan to continue operations and have already started talks with possible financiers,” Morgen told Sifted. “It is my goal to bring the investor process, which was started before the insolvency application and according to Monedo management looks promising, to a successful conclusion.”

About the Author: Arnab Shome
Arnab Shome
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About the Author: Arnab Shome
Arnab is an electronics engineer-turned-financial editor. He entered the industry covering the cryptocurrency market for Finance Magnates and later expanded his reach to forex as well. He is passionate about the changing regulatory landscape on financial markets and keenly follows the disruptions in the industry with new-age technologies.
  • 6534 Articles
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