Wayflyer founders Aidan Corbett and Jack Pierse. Image: Wayflyer
Wayflyer has made some local hires in Spain and the Netherlands after opening its first US office earlier this year.
Irish e-commerce financing platform Wayflyer is expanding into Spain and the Netherlands, with plans to deploy more than $100m in each market in 2022.
The revenue-based financing and growth platform for e-commerce businesses recently raised $76m in a Series A funding round led by Left Lane Capital. This financing was intended to support Wayflyer’s marketing, product development and international expansion.
The start-up has now made some local appointments to support growth in Europe, including Marc Brichs as its general manager in Spain and Matthijs Onland as its general manager in the Netherlands. Both will report directly to Wayflyer CEO Aidan Corbett.
Corbett, who founded Wayflyer in 2019 with Jack Pierse, said that his company’s strategic decision to expand in Spain and the Netherlands comes at a time when e-commerce sales in Europe are expected to increase by $298bn between 2020 and 2025.
“The last six months has seen impressive growth with a technology stack now designed to handle multiple currencies and payments in 10 countries and a global network of offices enabling 24-hour support,” he said.
“We are excited to be in a position to broaden and deepen the services we can deliver to both new and existing customers.”
‘Just scratching the surface’
With global e-commerce sales set to hit $4.2trn in 2021 and showing no signs of slowing, Wayflyer opened its first US office in Atlanta earlier this year, and it has additional plans to grow in Australia, France and other European markets in the coming months.
The Dublin-headquartered company, which also has offices in London, New York and Sydney, said it increased its total deal volume from $52.8m to $175.6m between the first and second quarters of 2021. It counts among its customers Spanish smart fitness company Volava and Dutch fashion retailer Constyle.
Corbett said after the Series A funding round in May that Wayflyer aims to reduce the traditional barriers that e-commerce businesses face.
“Our rapid growth since launch demonstrates the strength of this proposition and our relentless focus on customer service, and we’ve only just scratched the surface of this enormous market,” he said at the time.
Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.
