CEFIN Capital & Debt

What CEFIN Capital & Debt does

CEFIN Capital & Debt (Cefin) is a Paris-based financial advisory platform that connects French small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and intermediate-sized enterprises (ETIs) with financing solutions drawn from across the financial ecosystem. The company was founded in 2023 by Fabrice Pedro-Rousselin, a former structured finance professional with two decades of experience at major international banks in London, New York and Paris (trained at INSEAD and EDHEC), and is registered as a French SAS with share capital of €108,900 at 120 avenue Ledru-Rollin, 75011 Paris. Cefin targets the structural gap in French SME financing access created by an increasingly narrow and standardized banking market, and serves member companies of professional federations spanning wood, furniture, leather, fashion, footwear, railways, refrigeration, paint and coatings, industrial labels, luxury crafts, and broader industrial sectors.

Cefin's core product is a web-based financing comparison and brokerage platform accessible via cefin.fr. End users complete a three-minute questionnaire, and the platform's algorithm cross-references their business profile against more than 1,000 financing solutions drawn from banks, private funds, public institutions, ESG investors, and alternative lenders. Cefin's analysts then structure dossiers and submit them to selected lenders, with status tracked via an online dashboard. The company has extended this core platform into a network of sector-specific and thematic portals developed jointly with over a dozen French professional federations and industry associations (CODIFAB, Ameublement Français, INOHA, INMA, Alliance France Cuir, Francéclat, DEFI, Fédération Française de la Chaussure, FIPEC, Fédération des Industries Ferroviaires, SNEFCCA, Forces Françaises de l'Industrie, CRA, and UNFEA), giving member companies tailored access to industry-relevant financing products.

Cefin generates revenue through transaction-based fees and commissions from its 500+ financial institution partners for successful placements, while the comparison service is offered free of charge to end-user businesses. The company is registered as a courtier en opérations de banque et services de paiement with ORIAS under registration number 23005509, authorizing it to broker banking operations and payment services in France. Distribution is driven by federation referral channels, an active founder-authored editorial blog, and a LinkedIn presence, with the team consisting of the founder plus three named analysts (Saïf Ben Lazreg, Léo Bouelle, Sémi Gara-ali).

Name

CEFIN Capital & Debt

Legal name

CEFIN Capital & Debt

Website

https://cefin.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CEFIN Capital & Debt is a Paris-based fintech advisory platform that connects French SMEs and ETIs with 1,000+ financing solutions from 500+ financial institution partners via a web-based comparison platform and 15+ sector-specific federation portals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

SME Corporate Financing Advisory

NAICS

Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers (522310)

SIC

Loan Brokers (6163)

akta.pro primary industry

Debt & Capital Advisory (Debt Raising, Refinancing, Private Credit) (BPAHAOAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Debt Advisory & Financing Advisory (FSAEAGAD)

Keywords

• SME financing advisory
• Corporate debt brokerage
• Private debt solutions
• ESG financing platform
• Capital structure advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Financing brokerage and advisory services: Cefin acts as an intermediary platform connecting SMEs with financing solutions. The company architects optimized capital structures (private debt, subsidies, ESG financing, equity) for each client's specific situation. Revenue appears to come from transaction-based fees or commissions from partner financial institutions for successful loan/funding placements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CEFIN Capital & Debt operates a web-based financing comparison and brokerage platform that matches French SMEs and ETIs with over 1,000 financing solutions from banks, private funds, public institutions, ESG investors, and alternative lenders. Instead of negotiating individual loans like a traditional broker, CEFIN architects complete capital structures combining private debt, fundraising, grants/subsidies, ESG financing, and working capital optimization. Businesses complete a 3-minute questionnaire, after which CEFIN's experts select the most relevant offers from 500+ financial partners, send dossiers to selected lenders, and track status via online dashboards.

Product overview

CEFIN Capital & Debt operates a unified web-based financing platform that aggregates over 1,000 financing solutions from banks, private funds, public institutions, ESG investors, and alternative financiers. The core Cefin platform uses an algorithm to match business profiles with relevant financing options. The company has developed multiple sector-specific versions of its platform for professional federations and industry associations, including specialized platforms for wood industry, furniture, new habitat, luxury crafts, leather, jewellery/timepieces (Francéclat), fashion, footwear, paint/inks/coatings, railways, refrigeration, industrial labels, and business succession. Additionally, thematic platforms exist for Forces Françaises de l'Industrie and CRA (business takeover association). All platforms are accessible free of charge to eligible members through a 3-minute questionnaire process.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cefin Main Platform (Finsearch) Core web-based financing comparison and brokerage platform that matches French SMEs and ETIs with over 1,000 financing solutions from 500+ financial institution partners. Businesses complete a 3-minute questionnaire, after which CEFIN's experts select and send dossiers to the most relevant lenders and track application status via online dashboards.
• Financer l'industrie du bois Sector-specific financing platform for contributors to CODIFAB-Bois and members of UICB, UFME, UIPC, FFB, and CAPEB-Bois in the French wood industry.
• Financer l'ameublement Sector-specific financing platform for members of Ameublement Français and contributors of CODIFAB-Ameublement in the French furniture industry.
• Financer l'industrie du nouvel habitat Sector-specific financing platform for members of INOHA (Industriels du Nouvel Habitat).
• Financer les Savoir Faire d'Exception Sector-specific financing platform for actors in Savoir-Faire d'Exception and métiers d'art affiliated with INMA.
• Financer le cuir Sector-specific financing platform for members of Alliance France Cuir and 5 affiliated federations.
• Ariane - Francéclat Sector-specific financing platform for members of Comité Francéclat and 6 affiliated federations.
• Financer la mode Sector-specific financing platform for members of DEFI and 10 affiliated federations in the French fashion industry.
• Financer la chaussure Sector-specific financing platform for members of the Fédération Française de la Chaussure.
• Financer les industriels de la FIPEC Sector-specific financing platform for members of FIPEC (Fédération des Industriels de la Peinture, des Encres et des Couleurs) and 4 affiliated syndicates.
• Financer le ferroviaire Sector-specific financing platform for members of the Fédération des Industries Ferroviaires (FIF).
• Financer le froid Sector-specific financing platform for members of SNEFCCA (Syndicat national des Entreprises du Froid et du Conditionnement de l'Air), representing 1,226 companies in France.
• Plateforme FFI (Forces Françaises de l'Industrie) Financing search platform for members of Forces Françaises de l'Industrie (FFI), supporting SMEs and ETIs in their industrial projects on French territory.
• Financer la reprise (CRA) Financing search platform for members of CRA (Association des Cédants et Repreneurs d'affaires), supporting business acquisition and transfer projects.
• Financer l'étiquette (UNFEA) Sector-specific financing platform for members of UNFEA, the organization for adhesive-label producers in France.

Quantifiable outcome

• Access to 1000+ financing solutions through single platform comparison

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• CODIFAB-BoiscoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2016Sector-specific financing platform 'Financer l'industrie du bois' for contributors to CODIFAB-Bois and members of UICB, UFME, UIPC, FFB, and CAPEB-Bois.
• Ameublement FrançaiscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSector-specific financing platform 'Financer l'ameublement' for members of Ameublement Français and CODIFAB-Ameublement contributors.
• INOHA (Industriels du Nouvel Habitat)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerSector-specific financing platform 'Financer l'industrie du nouvel habitat' for members of INOHA professional syndicate.
• INMA (Institut pour les Savoir-Faire Français)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerSector-specific financing platform 'Financer les Savoir Faire d'Exception' for actors in exceptional craftsmanship and métiers d'art affiliated with INMA.
• Alliance France CuircoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSector-specific financing platform 'Financer le cuir' for members of Alliance France Cuir and 5 affiliated federations.
• Comité Francéclat (Ariane)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerSector-specific financing platform 'Ariane' for members of Comité Francéclat and 6 affiliated federations.
• DEFI (Développement de l'Emploi et des Filières)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerSector-specific financing platform 'Financer la mode' for members of DEFI and 10 affiliated federations.
• Fédération Française de la ChaussurecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSector-specific financing platform 'Financer la chaussure' for members of the French footwear federation.
• FIPEC (Fédération des Industriels de la Peinture, Encres et Couleurs)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerTwo sector-specific platforms: 'Financer l'étiquette' for UNFEA members and 'Financer les professionnels de la FIPEC' for FIPEC members. FIPEC represents 147 members generating €5 billion revenue.
• Fédération des Industries Ferroviaires (FIF)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerSector-specific platform 'Financer le ferroviaire' for members of FIF. Railway industry generates €2,989M revenue with €931M in exports.
• SNEFCCA (Syndicat national des Entreprises du Froid et du Conditionnement de l'Air)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerSector-specific platform 'Financer le froid' for SNEFCCA members. SNEFCCA represents 1,226 companies in France specializing in cold, professional kitchen equipment, and air conditioning.
• Forces Françaises de l'Industrie (FFI)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerFFI promotes reindustrialization of France and provides financing portal for members' projects. French industry comprises 274,212 companies with €1,255 billion revenue and €325 billion value added.
• CRA (Cédants et Repreneurs d'affaires)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerDedicated platform 'Financer la reprise' for CRA members. Since 1987, CRA has facilitated 37,000+ entrepreneurs and 13,500+ business transfers. 240 volunteer delegates support acquisition projects.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Younited Credit: French fintech operating a regulated lending platform that matches borrowers with investors, also registered as an intermediary; competes with Cefin in the French SME financing intermediation category and shares the regulated intermediary model.
• Pretto: French digital mortgage and credit broker using a productized questionnaire-based funnel—comparable to Cefin's freemium self-serve comparison approach and digital origination model, though concentrated in real estate credit.
• Vousfinancer: France's leading credit brokerage network operating under ORIAS as a 'courtier en opérations de banque'—the most direct functional analogue to Cefin in terms of intermediation model, though more retail/SME mortgage focused.
• Meilleurtaux: French broker-aggregator that compares credit and financing offers on behalf of clients; directly comparable to Cefin's matchmaking/comparison workflow, although with retail and mortgage emphasis rather than the full capital-structure mix.
• Walter France: French specialist brokerage in financing for healthcare professionals (dentists, physicians, pharmacists) and SMEs—comparable to Cefin in acting as a regulated intermediator curating lender panels for niche SME segments.
• Defacto: French B2B financing platform offering invoice factoring, working capital, and short-term financing to SMEs—directly comparable as a French SME financing intermediary addressing the same fragmented credit-access pain point.
• October (formerly Lendix): Pan-European digital lending marketplace that connects SMEs with a panel of institutional and private lenders for business loans—directly comparable to Cefin's marketplace model of intermediating SME financing, though with broader geographic reach.

Broad incumbents

• Tikehau Capital: Major French alternative asset manager with sizable private debt, private equity, and real estate finance activities—operates as both a direct lender Cefin matches SMEs to and as a broader incumbent in the same financing ecosystem.
• BPI France: France's public investment bank offering SME financing, guarantees, subsidies, and equity—operates across every financing category Cefin curates and is both a competitor (direct public lender) and partner (subsidy channel) for Cefin's marketplace.
• Capza (formerly Capzanome): European private debt and private equity manager serving SMEs and mid-caps—operates as one of the institutional private debt funds Cefin connects borrowers to, and an incumbent in the alternative SME financing ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cefincapitalanddebt

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CEFIN Capital & Debt