 | |
| Company type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 5 October 2011 |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | United Kingdom |
Key people |
|
| Products | Business loans, line of credit |
| Website | www |
iwoca Ltd. (/ɪˈwɒkə/) is a business finance provider operating in the UK and Germany, specialising in lending to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
The company uses a combination of technology and human expertise to provide a high level of service, employing a mix of automated and manual credit analysis. iwoca offers a fast and simple application process, and has been recognised for high-quality customer service.[1]
iwoca was founded by Christoph Rieche and James Dear in October 2011 and began trading in the UK in March 2012. In 2015, iwoca also started operating in Germany. The company has seen continued growth in both the UK and Germany, with ever-growing loan books in both countries.
Since its founding, iwoca has lent around £4 billion to 100,000 businesses.[2]
Products
Business Loans
iwoca's primary offering is a flexible, unsecured business loan which can be repaid early with no early repayment fees, also known as the Flexi-Loan. Loan terms on iwoca's small business loans range between 12 and 60 months, although they can be held for as little as one day.
In the UK, business loans of up to £1 million are available to Limited Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships. In Germany, business loans of up to 500,000€ are available to all small businesses, including the self-employed.
iwocaPay
iwocaPay is an integrated trade credit and payment solution that enables suppliers to get paid instantly, while letting their trade customers access up to £30,000 and spread payments over 1, 3 or 12 months.
Business Credit Cards
In 2026, iwoca will be launching a business credit card that is tailored to the specific lending and spending needs of SMEs. It will include various benefits and rewards.
History
Early years (2011 - 2014)
Founded by Christoph Rieche and James Dear in October 2011, iwoca started trading in March 2012. The company was founded to offer custom-built loans for small businesses that struggled to access finance from traditional banks.
iwoca secured a £2 million equity investment from Beyond Digital in early 2013.[3] In January 2014, the company announced it had raised £5 million in investment led by venture capital firm Global Founders Capital for UK and European expansion.[4]
Initially, the business focused exclusively on e-commerce businesses, but in April 2014, iwoca expanded its lending to all types of small businesses.
Growth (2015 - 2019)
iwoca entered the German market in 2015, and established itself as one of the largest Fintech small business lenders in the country.[5] In the same year, a European Investment Fund (EIF) COSME[6] agreement was agreed with the goal of iwoca lending £40 million to more than 3,000 UK small businesses.[7] By July 2015, the company was reported to have seen 250% year-on-year growth in issuance when raising $20 million in equity from investors including CommerzVentures and venture capital firm Acton Capital Partners in its Series B round.[8]
In 2018, iwoca doubled its revenues to £48 million.[9] In the same year, iwoca also became the first small business lender to use Open Banking rules to connect large banks, in a partnership with Lloyds.[10]
In 2019, the company raised £150 million in equity and debt capital, in a Series D funding round led by Augmentum.[11] That year, iwoca also won £10 million from the government-backed Capability and Innovations Fund, which was part of a Banking Competition Remedies (BCR) grant.[12] The company agreed to use these funds, along with a £13 million commitment from its own capital, to develop new products and open offices outside of London. This led to the launch of iwocaPay and the opening of an office in Leeds.[13]
Covid-19 (2020 - 2021)
During the Covid-19 pandemic, iwoca was one the lenders approved for the Coronavirus Business Interruption Scheme (CBILS).[14] iwoca also took part in the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS),[15] although the company stopped issuing loans through the Recovery Loan Scheme in 2022.[16]
In October 2021 the company's research found that only one‑third of small‑business owners experiencing poor mental health sought professional help. To address this, iwoca partnered with Spill to make free video therapy sessions available to all UK SME owners.[17]
In 2021, iwoca was named the fastest-growing fintech by the Sunday Times International Track 200.[18]
Post-covid growth (2022 - Present)
In January 2023 iwoca expanded its existing funding facility with Pollen Street Capital to £170 million.[19] In October 2023 it secured a £200 million funding line from Barclays and Värde Partners.[20]
In May 2024 iwoca announced £270 million in new debt funding, including £150 million from Citibank and Insight Investment for expansion in Germany and £120 million from Barclays and Värde Partners for the UK, taking cumulative investment above £1 billion since 2012.[21]
iwoca achieved net profitability in Q4 2022[22] and has remained profitable since. In fact, iwoca is now one of the most-profitable UK fintechs.[23]
Partnerships
iwoca has partnerships with a range of companies in the UK and Germany, including:
- Tide (UK & Germany) - Since 2017 iwoca has partnered with Tide to offer business finance to Tide's customers in the UK without them having to leave the Tide app.[24] Although Tide customers were initially able to borrow up to £100,000, today they can borrow up to £1 million from iwoca. Tide customers in Germany have been able to access iwoca business finance through the Tide app since 2024.
- Teya (UK) - iwoca has partnered with payments firm Teya to offer iwoca's Flexi-Loan product directly within the Teya app and web portal. Teya customers are able to apply for loans from £1,000 up to £1 million with flexible terms ranging from one day to 60 months.[25]
- DFKP (Germany) - iwoca has partnered with business finance broker DFKP to create a joint API interface. This enables fast credit assessments for iwoca loans up to 500,000€.[26]
- Check24 (Germany) - Since 2023, iwoca has partnered with comparison platform Check24 to offer business loans up to 500,000€ within the Check24 loan comparison.[27]
Employee experience
iwoca was named one of the "UK's Top 50 Fintechs to Work For in 2025" by employment platform Welcome To The Jungle,[28] as well as holding a 4.7 rating on Glassdoor.[29]
The benefits page on their website mentions flexible working arrangements, annual stock options and enhanced parental leave, as well as dedicated time and budget for professional development.[30]
iwoca has staff in both the UK and Germany, with offices in London, Leeds, Berlin, and Frankfurt.
Awards and media mentions
Here are some of the awards that iwoca has won to-date:
- Yorkshire financial awards 2023 - iwoca was named lender of the year.[31]
- Moneynet awards 2024 - iwoca was named best small business lender.[32]
- Moneynet awards 2025 - iwoca was named best small business provider.[33]
- iwoca was featured in the CNBC top fintechs in the world in 2025.[34]
The company has also been mentioned in major media outlets including The Times,[35] CityAM,[36] The Financial Times,[37] The Telegraph[38] and The Independent.[39]
References
- ^ "iwoca is rated "Excellent" with 4.8 / 5 on Trustpilot". Trustpilot. 28 August 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ Hurley, James (28 July 2025). "Meet the firm that is brave enough to fund small businesses". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ sormani, angela (3 January 2013). "iwoca Secures Funds From Beyond Digital". Venture Capital Journal. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ Ruthven, Hunter (9 January 2014). "Second multi-million pound funding round in a year for iwoca". Growth Business. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "04/07/19: Deutsche Bank, Basel IV, Iwoca, October". Finanz-Szene.de (in German). Retrieved 17 January 2020.
- ^ "COSME - European Commission". single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "Investment Plan for Europe: EIF and iwoca sign EUR 60 million deal to support over 3000 small businesses in the UK". www.eif.org. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ Williams-Grut, Oscar. "London fintech startup iwoca just got $20 million from German investors". Business Insider. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "iwoca announced £1bn milestone on funding SMEs". UKTN (UK Tech News). 5 November 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- ^ "Open Banking comes to small business lending with Lloyds and iwoca". Finextra Research. 31 October 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ mdidymus (19 February 2019). "Augmentum Fintech, Prime Ventures help iwoca to £150m Series D funding round". FinTech Global. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "Atom Bank, iwoca, Modulr and Currencycloud get £10m BCR grant". www.fintechfutures.com. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "Major European fintech business iwoca to create up to 100 jobs by opening Leeds office". Archived from the original on 20 December 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "Six new UK lenders approved for CBILS including fintech iwoca". www.fintechfutures.com. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "We're accredited under the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) - iwoca". www.iwoca.co.uk. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "Recovery Loan Scheme Alternatives - £1,000,000 Business Loan instead - iwoca". www.iwoca.co.uk. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ Shoffman, Marc (7 October 2021). "Iwoca launches mental health support service for small business owners". Alternative Credit Investor. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "How iwoca became the UK's fastest-growing fintech". www.managementtoday.co.uk. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ Gaw, Kathryn (1 February 2023). "Iwoca reaches profitability and expands Pollen Street funding line". Alternative Credit Investor. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "iwoca raises £200m funding line from Barclays and Värde Partners". bridgingandcommercial.co.uk. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ Symcox, Jonathan (7 May 2024). "iwoca takes funding past £1bn with £270m round". BusinessCloud. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "Fintech iwoca hits net profitability as demand for SME capital surges - iwoca". www.iwoca.co.uk. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "Innovate Finance: UK now third-largest fintech market globally". Open Banking Expo. 24 July 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "Tide raises $14m and partners with iwoca". specialistbanking.co.uk. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ Duncan, Ellie (13 August 2025). "Iwoca partners with Teya to offer flexible loans to UK SMEs". Alternative Credit Investor. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "DFKP und iwoca nehmen gemeinsame API in Betrieb". DFKP – Deutsche Firmenkredit Partner (in German). 11 October 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ Nemitz, Marc (9 August 2023). "Cooperation between CHECK24 and iwoca expands credit options for SMEs". www.startbase.com. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "We're excited to share that iwoca has been named one of the UK's Top FinTechs to Work For in 2025 by Welcome to the Jungle! 🎉 This recognition highlights our commitment to building an ambitious… | iwoca". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "iwoca Reviews: What Is It Like to Work At iwoca?". Glassdoor. 20 July 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "Let's rebuild finance for small businesses - iwoca". www.iwoca.co.uk. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ Dugdale, Mark (5 May 2023). "Congratulations to the winners of the Yorkshire Financial Awards 2023!". Yorkshire Financial Awards. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "Moneynet Awards 2024 | Moneynet.co.uk". Moneynet.co.uk | A Helping Hand With Your Money. 8 January 2024. Archived from the original on 8 July 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "Moneynet Awards 2025 | Moneynet.co.uk". Moneynet.co.uk | A Helping Hand With Your Money. 9 December 2024. Archived from the original on 9 August 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "The world's top fintech companies: 2025". CNBC. 16 July 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ Hurley, James (28 July 2025). "Meet the firm that is brave enough to fund small businesses". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ Robinson, Jon (26 June 2025). "Profit triples at SME lender Iwoca as loans near £1bn". City AM. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "Client Challenge". www.ft.com. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ Field, Matthew (28 July 2019). "London's Iwoca makes first year of profit as loan provider's revenues hit £48m". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "iwoca – fast loans for small businesses in the 21st century". The Independent. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
