Santander InnoVentures, the group’s venture capital fund, has made a portfolio investment in San Francisco-based supply chain finance platform Tradeshift.

The investment – the amount of which Santander would not disclose to GTR – will be used to further develop Tradeshift’s platform and grow its B2B marketplace.

Mariano Belinky, managing partner at Santander InnoVentures, says: “Tradeshift is at the forefront of tackling a very real business need. Tradeshift gives enterprises the ability to work easily and efficiently with their entire supply chain, while providing SMEs with access to a predictable cashflow through procure-to-pay automation.

“Tradeshift has built an open business network on a scalable cloud-first platform that is extensible by third-party applications. This architecture is a key differentiator. As a result, the potential to provide complementary and added-value services around the Tradeshift platform is particularly powerful.”

Tradeshift’s customer base includes DHL, Zurich Insurance Group and the UK’s National Health Service. The company had a 250% growth rate in 2015.

“Santander InnoVentures is a natural fit as an investor because of its commitment to support and apply emerging technologies to solve the real world challenges of its customers,” adds Christian Lanng, CEO and chairman at Tradeshift.

As part of the investment agreement, the two parties will also explore ways to apply the Tradeshift platform to Santander’s corporate customers.