Serial entrepreneur plans to change the way the world does business with funding from Mercia
2023-04-28
[LONDON] – April 28th 2023 – Centuro Global, the one-stop-shop for businesses looking to expand overseas, will expand its offering as a cost-effective alternative to larger consultancy firms following a successful fundraising round.
The fast-growing scale-up has landed £3.3million from Mercia, having landed contracts with
some of the leading companies in the world, exceeded sales targets, and tripled headcount over a period of phenomenal acceleration.
By offering a quick way to stay compliant across tax, immigration and entity setup from one easy-to-use platform, Centuro makes it simple to scale-up globally. Centuro’s proprietary AI technology has already helped companies overcome challenges when entering new markets. The company’s platform analyses and interprets data to provide businesses with insights that help leaders make informed decisions, avoiding expensive hourly rates and time delays through traditional services.
Centuro was founded by Asma Bashir and Zain Ali. Serial entrepreneur Bashir previously founded leading immigration service provider Newland Chase, securing Fortune 500 clients and creating a global footprint before exiting to pursue private investments and co-found Centuro Global. Ali is a TEDx speaker, lawyer and influencer, experienced in advising multinationals including Apple, Nokia and Universal Music on global law.
Ali said: “We are thrilled to have secured this funding which will enable us to further develop our technology and accelerate our growth as we seek to establish ourselves as a leader in the global expansion space. We believe Centuro has the potential to transform the way companies approach international markets, unlocking new opportunities and growth potential.
“Global expansion is complex, with confusing local laws especially immigration, complicated taxes and hefty fines for those who fail to play by the rules.
“Centuro cuts through the complexity, eradicating the need for siloed, expensive and inefficient consultancy services. We’re disrupting the dominance of the larger players in the market, giving ambitious businesses a simple solution that saves them time and money, reduces compliance risks and helps them win in new markets and in the war for global talent.”
Centuro’s platform uses breakthrough generative AI and local legal expertise to deliver superior end-to-end global mobility compliance and entity set up in over 150 countries.
“We’re encouraging investors and clients to think of this as a dynamic new industry,” explained Ali. “It’s global expansion as a service; a new market we expect to grow rapidly alongside Employer of Record arrangements.”
Centuro raised the funding from Mercia following a 12-month period of exponential growth in revenue, clients and headcount. The funding will fuel Centuro’s own expansion efforts including further investment in its AI solution, onboarding more client success managers, and adding more clients convinced by the simplicity of the Centuro platform. Centuro has also appointed veteran B2B technology entrepreneur Bill Flind – a three-time exited founder – as Chairman.[AW1]
Mercia was investing from its Northern Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs). Adam Watts, Investment Manager at Mercia added: “With the trend to ‘working from anywhere,’ more companies are finding themselves managing distributed teams and having to navigate complex legislation. Centuro’s ‘expansion as a service’ model helps businesses operating overseas to make informed decisions quickly. The company has grown revenues rapidly since launching its platform last year and we believe it has huge potential to establish itself as a category leader in this space.”
Ali said: “We have a unique, highly-viable business model in a fast-moving space. We’re true innovators in professional services, offering a tech-enabled solution that outperforms old-fashioned consultancy. Better than that, we’re helping to create new jobs and share wealth globally by making it simple for businesses to sell, employ and expand wherever they want.”
++ Ali will address a global audience of corporates and professional experts from the likes of Rolls-Royce, Arsenal FC, Vodafone, Microsoft and Accenture at Centuro’s Global Expansion Conference in London, May 3rd and 4th.
About Centuro Global
Founded in 2020, Centuro Global is an AI-powered SaaS platform that ensures a company’s global expansion needs are serviced compliantly in one place. With Centuro Global’s platform, Centuro Connect, every step on the global expansion journey, from tax, legal, and immigration, to payroll and HR, are found in one system, allowing them to trade in any jurisdiction with ease and efficiency. For more information, please visit centuroglobal.com
About Mercia Asset Management PLC
Mercia is a proactive venture capital investor that aims to be a start-up’s first-choice partner for growth. Mercia currently has c. £1.4 billion of assets under management and has invested in a portfolio of more than 400 start-ups from pre-seed to Series B and beyond. Mercia has nine offices in the UK and over 60 investment professionals, all drawing on their experiences as founders, PhD scientists, software engineers, corporate financiers and management consultants to help our partner companies successfully achieve their ambitions.
www.mercia.co.uk
