When our growth reached a point where our existing credit facilities were no longer ideal, we knew we had to strengthen our capital structure.
When our growth reached a point where our existing credit facilities were no longer ideal, I knew we had to strengthen our capital structure. Refinancing our debt would provide the stability and flexibility we needed to expand Upstream’s mobile marketing automation platform across emerging markets in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
As CFO, I had lived through our original European Investment Bank facility in 2017. It had been critical to our early development. Since then our Grow platform had powered over 4,000 campaigns and reached 1.2 billion consumers globally. We delivered strong customer outcomes, with brands seeing returns of 12 times their marketing spend and mobile operators acquiring millions of new subscribers. Despite this success, our credit terms no longer matched our scale or strategic ambitions. We needed longer maturities and more certainty around funding costs.
Selecting the right advisor was crucial. Venero stood out because they combined deep debt advisory experience with a genuine understanding of technology businesses. They had strong relationships with both commercial banks and multilateral institutions. From our first conversation, they spoke our language and took time to understand our business model. Their straightforward communication style gave me confidence that they would manage the process transparently and collaboratively.
Company: Upstream
Vertical: MarTech
CFO: George Serfiotis
Transaction Type: Long Term Debt Refinancing
Lenders: National Bank of Greece and European Investment Bank
Financial Advisor: Venero Capital Advisors
Venero coordinated the due diligence process and arranged roadshow meetings with both the National Bank of Greece and the EIB. I joined the team in presenting our campaign success data, subscription revenue profiles and cash flow projections. Venero’s preparation was meticulous. They built clear presentations that showcased how our platform delivers consistent ROI and drives customer retention.
During negotiations, Venero helped us evaluate tradeoffs between cost and flexibility. We secured a new €14 million facility from the National Bank of Greece with competitive interest rates. At the same time, they renegotiated the €11 million EIB loan, extending its maturity under favorable terms. The Venero team's ability to maintain constructive dialogue with lenders ensured that we achieved a solution that aligned with our growth objectives.
Securing this refinancing was not without challenges. Global economic uncertainty led some lenders to question risk appetite for technology borrowers. Venero helped frame our recurring revenue model and strong customer results as evidence of resilience. Whenever negotiations stalled, they guided us back to our strategic priorities and kept the process moving forward.
This refinancing process reinforced that a compelling finance story is as essential as strong metrics. Venero’s work demonstrated how expert advisory can translate operational achievements into financing outcomes. Their dual focus on detailed modeling and narrative clarity made lenders comfortable with our performance forecasts and confident in our future plans.
It’s been a pleasure having the support of Venero throughout our refinancing project that has improved our overall maturity profile and allows us to further focus on scaling-up our MarTech offering and propelling our plans for the future.
With the €25 million package in place, Upstream now has a robust capital base. We can accelerate product innovations, deepen our engagements with existing clients and pursue new market opportunities. The extended debt maturities allow us to focus on long term growth rather than short term refinancing concerns.
Working alongside Venero Capital Advisors turned a complex refinancing challenge into a strategic advantage. Their expertise, dedication and partnership approach delivered the financing structure we needed to support Upstream’s next phase of expansion around the world.
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