Innogest leads €3m round for Sardex.net

The fresh capital will enable the company to expand its business nationwide, open a new office in Milan and expand its team.

According to a statement, the company chose Innogest as an investor to boost its expansion internationally, and the state-backed venture capital firm Invitalia to attract international investors and enable the business to expand in the public administration market.

Following the transaction, the founding partners will retain a controlling stake in Sardex.

Banca Sella, Fondazione Sardegna, Nice Group and Melpart also took part in the round. Melpart chair Stefano Meloni will become chair of Sardex.net. Born in Sardinia, Meloni has previous management experience with Montedison, Eridania and Ferrero International.

Previous funding
Sardex raised a seed funding round from Italian venture capital firm Dpixel in December 2011.

Company
Based in Serramanna, Sardex.net develops a commercial credit platform that provides companies with credit and payment tools. The platform works through a digital local currency, Sardex, which enables companies to finance themselves on a reciprocal basis and complements the traditional currency.

Founded in 2009, the company claims 3,000 clients generating €50m in transactions in 2015. The system has been replicated in other Italian regions, including Piedmont, Lombardy, Emilia Romagna, Marche, Abruzzo, Lazio, Molise and Campania, and is to be launched in Umbria and Veneto.

People
Innogest – Michele Novelli (partner).
Invitalia Ventures – Salvo Mizzi (CEO).
Sardex – Gabriele Littera, Pietro Sanna, Carlo Mancosu, Giuseppe Littera, Franco Contu (co-founders); Roberto Spano (CEO).

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• Topics
• Expansion
• Technology
• Southern Europe
• Italy
• Venture