Led · Series A · Sep 2021

Steward operates an online lending platform that enables sustainably-run farms, ranches, fisheries, and food producers to access secured, interest-bearing loans from retail and accredited lenders. The company partners with regenerative agriculture businesses to accelerate growth and sustain operations. Steward has, to date, provided over $7m in farm loans to fund 50 agricultural projects, backed by more than 1,200 participating lenders. Founded in 2017 and based in Portland, Oregon, the platform facilitates direct participation in farm financing through its marketplace. The recent funding will be used to ramp up staff, customer support, technology, and marketing to scale its operations. Steward also plans governance additions tied to the investment, with new board members joining following the round.

Participated · Series B · May 2018

Brighte is a fintech that finances residential solar, battery and other home-improvement installations for households. It funds customers through point-of-sale financing and securitisation of the resulting receivables. The company is preparing to launch a gentailer model where customers own energy assets, Brighte acts as their retailer, and helps customers monetise solar and batteries; it also plans a home energy offering and has signalled future electric vehicle plans. Brighte says the deal increases its funding runway, reduces its cost of funds and frees up balance-sheet headroom for expansion. The business has doubled headcount in 12 months and is led by founder and CEO Katherine McConnell. Since 2015 the company has raised significant public debt and equity to support its growth strategy. Brighte provides point-of-sale, no-interest repayment plans that let homeowners purchase solar panels, insulation, and batteries from more than 450 partner vendors. Applications take about two minutes to complete and deliver a credit outcome in nine seconds. Customers can borrow up to $30,000 over a 60-month period with zero percent interest for the life of the plan. Since launch the startup has approved over $50 million in applications from more than 6,000 Australians and has forecasted $9 million to be approved in May, a 40% increase from April. The company plans to use new funding to advance product development, with a particular focus on machine learning and artificial intelligence. Katherine McConnell is founder and CEO. Brighte is a Sydney-based home energy-funding platform that provides on-the-spot financing and zero-interest payments for customers installing solar panels and batteries. Its mobile app delivers customer payment plans on the spot and can take a finance application and return an instant credit outcome in minutes. The company was founded by Katherine McConnell, who left her role at Macquarie Bank in 2015 to start the business. Brighte aims to make renewable energy more affordable for Australian families and to reshape the solar and battery market to benefit vendors and consumers. It was named an 'emerging star' of the fintech sector last year. Following its recent raise, the startup plans to hire new staff and increase its foothold in Australia.