UAE-based supply chain finance platform Invoice Bazaar has received a further financing boost, this time from Advance Global Capital (AGC), which has increased its investment mandate to US$5mn.

AGC initially signed a term sheet worth US$1.1mn back in October last year. Other investors include Rakbank, which became the first bank to offer liquidity to the receivables finance platform in August, and former Citi Asia CEO and chair Shirish Apte, who invested an undisclosed amount in May.

According to Invoice Bazaar, it is also in discussions with “several other financial institutions” and expects to close out on new relationships shortly.

Invoice Bazaar has implemented over a dozen supply chain finance (SCF) mandates in the last 12 months since it began operations. Its buyers and suppliers include local as well as multinational companies, such as the likes of Unilever, Huhtamaki Group, Hamleys and Britannia Middle East.

Nate Hartley, CEO of AGC, comments on the decision to increase support: “Having worked with Invoice Bazaar over the last year, we found them to be a great partner, as the team understands our investment mandate and we are able to close out on opportunities rather quickly. Alternate finance in the Middle East is catching up and we see some tremendous traction originating from the UAE.”

Anand Nagaraj, founder and CEO of Invoice Bazaar, adds: “With enhanced institutional capital, we are able to attract better client profile interested in [our] SCF offering. As SCF is a solution that benefits every stakeholder, it is obvious for larger corporations to be interested in implementing this model benefiting their suppliers.”

Invoice Bazaar is an online platform built to connect SME suppliers to mid-sized and large buyers in the UAE. The platform helps suppliers to see the status of their invoices through the mobile app/cloud system, and provides an option to sell their invoices for cash, thereby helping them with their working capital cycle.