San Francisco, CA–WeTravel, a travel booking, and payments solutions company, announced the launch of a new type of loan called WeTravel Growth Capital, targeted at small travel industry businesses.
The organization’s website says that the company offers term loans and lines of credit of up to $10,000,000, repayable between six and thirty-six months (among other financing options).
They cater only to businesses in the travel industry, including “group tour operators, custom travel providers, travel agencies, destination management companies, retreat hosts, educational travel organizers, and more.”
Applicants must pass the following criteria to be eligible:
- Prove an average of $10,000 in monthly revenue,
- To have operated for over six months
- Have a minimum credit score of 550
“It has been a difficult season for the travel industry, especially for small, local businesses and operators,” said Zaky Prabowo, CEO and Co-founder WeTravel, in the release. “As we emerge into a new season, WeTravel is providing additional support to help travel businesses successfully recover and increase profitability with access to the money they need.”
According to a report, 65% of the company’s clients are small businesses.
“As a separate but complementary offering to our platform, offering Growth Capital aligns with ourbusiness’s founding mission to provide opportunities for any travel business to successfully operate a business with the assistance of travel-specific technology,” Prabowo added in the report.
Another report highlights that the organization recently announced a Series B funding round of $27 million (adding up to a total of $34 million) after experiencing rapid growth after the pandemic. A part of the funding was directed towards adding travel fintech solutions to their arsenal.
Transaction volumes have risen by 300%, and revenues are presently at 3x compared to pre-pandemic times.
WeTravel, established in 2014, is a platform on which service providers in the tourism industry can offer their products — stays or experiences in 80 countries — and accept payments. Clients also have the option to embed listings, additional tools, and payment gateways on their own websites or various platforms.