February 6 (SeeNews) - Romanian online microfinancing start-up Instant Factoring said on Wednesday it has named co-founder Cristian Ionescu as CEO and president of the company to support an ambitious expansion plan for this year.
The CEO position is a new one within the organisation, necessitated by the company's plans to strengthen its regional presence and expand online microfinance operations for small business, it said in a press release.
Ionescu is also instant Factoring's president of the chairman board.
"This change is a step forward in our regional expansion plan that will begin in the coming months by opening a new branch in Croatia and will continue in the second half of the year in a second country. At the same time, we are planning to increase the volume of funding in Romania to over 10 million euro ($11.4 million) in 2019, an increase of 300% over 2018, so we need a solid and capable team to meet these ambitious targets," Ionescu said.
For each of the countries where subsidiaries will be opened, including Romania, a country manager will be appointed.
"We want to strengthen our strategic presence in Romania and Central and Eastern Europe and take advantage of the competitive technological advantage that the company has and is consolidating at the moment. We will bring together new specialists with international experience in financial operations and risk assessment activities to support our regional strategy as well as professionals in small and micro companies lending in the countries in which we will expand, " Ionescu added.
Instant Factory announced in January that it plans to expand to Croatia and other new markets in Central and Eastern Europe this year, aiming to become a regional leader.
The company plans to hit operational break-even in the first half of 2019, it said in January.
In October, Instant Factoring received 1.5 million euro financing from a United States-based investment fund.
Instant Factoring is a fintech online micro-factoring company in Romania dedicated to small companies and micro-enterprises. It facilitates the development of small businesses, providing them with flexible and innovative financing solutions by converting invoiced bills into cash.
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