Trade finance startup CapitalXB bags $15M in seed round led by Nicolas Walewski

CapitalXB, a Mumbai-based trade finance firm targeting small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs), has raised $15 million in a mix of debt and equity to expand its lending capacity and technology infrastructure.

The round was led by Nicolas Walewski, founder of London investment boutique Alken, who invested in a personal capacity.

The company said the funding will help scale operations to reach more businesses across India’s manufacturing and trade sectors. CapitalXB aims to narrow the country’s estimated $525 billion trade finance shortfall (according to government data) and support SME-led economic growth.

“India's SMEs are poised for unprecedented growth. This funding accelerates our mission to become the preferred financing partner for businesses driving India's manufacturing and export economy—enabling economic multipliers across entire supply chains,” said Taranjit S Jaswal, Managing Director and CEO of CapitalXB, in a statement.

Ajitabh Bharti, Executive Director and Co-founder, explained that the company’s model focuses on evaluating transaction strength and business fundamentals, giving SMEs access to capital based on their commercial potential, not just traditional parameters.

"CapitalXB is addressing a critical gap in India's trade finance ecosystem with innovative solutions tailored for SMEs,” said Walewski.

The company offers products including invoice discounting, factoring, and supply chain financing, and also operates on the RBI-regulated TReDS platform, which allows MSMEs to access working capital. Its clients span various sectors, including chemicals, textiles, logistics, and consumer goods.

CapitalXB Finance is a licensed NBFC-Factor regulated by the Reserve Bank of India.

The startup is set to face stiff competition on the TReDS platform. The trade receivables discounting system (TReDS) collectively sees transactions worth about Rs 25,000 crore a month. Amazon-backed M1xchange, operated by Mynd Solutions, is the largest player, processing more than $1 billion (~Rs 8,800 crore) in monthly volumes.

A.TREDS Ltd, backed by Axis Bank, and Receivables Exchange of India Ltd (RXIL), promoted by SIDBI, are the other key players, each facilitating transactions of over Rs 8,000 crore every month.