Atlanta has a new corporate presence from across the pond.
Stenn, a London-based financial technology company, opened its first headquarters outside of England last week in Midtown’s Colony Square.
The office will serve as Stenn’s American headquarters as it looks to expand its footprint in the U.S. Stenn, founded in 2015, lends money to finance short-term gaps for e-commerce and international trade businesses. The company has clients in more than 75 countries, particularly in Asia and India.
Noel Hillman, Stenn’s chief commercial officer, said the company decided to set up a presence in Atlanta because of the number of large financial technology companies in the area and the city’s reputation as “Transaction Alley,” with roughly 70% of the world’s debit, credit and digital payments being processed through the city.
“Stenn is trying to leverage the expertise that Atlanta has in the fintech space,” Hillman told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Stenn lends money to both importers and exporters of finished goods and has done more than $20 billion of transaction volume globally, according to Hillman.
“The world has really changed from the perspective of how consumers buy products, which then affects kind of the upstream, how things are manufactured,” he said.
For example, a denim manufacturer in India 15 years ago would be selling its products to one large buyer in the U.S., but now that manufacturer is selling to a large buyer as well as dozens of small online businesses that sell on sites like Instagram or Amazon, he explained.
Those small sellers might not have enough funds initially to cover the full cost of their order, so Stenn will lend U.S.-based e-commerce businesses the money in return for a percentage of revenue, on average 5% to 20%, until the amount is paid back. The capital helps bridge the cash gap until the business can sell the product, without entrepreneurs having to give up equity to investors or pay back a fixed amount every month with a loan, according to Hillman.
On the exporting side, Stenn will pay invoices to manufacturers that will ship products to their customers and then Stenn collects payments from the buyer when goods are received.
Hillman noted Atlanta has a good pool of diverse tech talent the company can tap as it grows and offers a good work-life balance for employees. Stenn currently has more than 300 employees across the world, with about 35 employees in Atlanta. The company is looking to hire about 30 more people in Atlanta over the next few years.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Report for America are partnering to add more journalists to cover topics important to our community. Please help us fund this important work here.
About the Author
