Fortress Factoring, a financial technology startup providing factoring and supply chain finance services, has announced plans to expand its HQ in Vilnius. With an augmented team, the fintech is looking to grow its client base in Central and Eastern Europe as well as launch financial services, including leasing.
Established in Lithuania in 2021, Fortress Factoring has Taiwanese roots. The company’s founder Waylon Yeh created Fortress with the goal of facilitating trade between Taiwan and the CEE region.
In addition to a promising fintech niche he found, Mr Yeh cites the quality of local talent and the strengthening ties between Lithuania and Taiwan as the reasons behind his decision to set up Fortress Factoring in the country:
“The progress in bilateral relations between Lithuania and Taiwan was encouraging. The country is also one of Europe’s central hubs for fintech, with a competitive talent pool and a widespread use of the English language.”
Fortress Factoring’s blockchain-powered solutions solve the problems importers and exporters face, providing them with supply chain finance, financial engineering, and factoring services that ease and expedite international trade. Fortress mainly serves Taiwanese ICT vendors and European ICT distributors.
Fortress Factoring intends to work closely with FinCause, an electronic money institution granted a licence by the Bank of Lithuania last year. The companies hope to offer integrated financial services that respond to the needs of corporate clients from Asia and central and eastern Europe. Fortress also plans to establish a third company focusing on leasing services, completing the spectrum of solutions the fintech provides for its clients.
With an expanded scope of services, Fortress Factoring is planning to expand its client base of small and medium-sized businesses in the Baltics and Central Europe. While Lithuania will remain the fintech’s HQ, Fortress is looking to establish offices in Poland, Czechia, and Slovakia over the next few years.
Currently, Fortress is hiring financial specialists to join its team in Vilnius. The company is looking for professionals in Compliance, Accounting, AML & KYC, Sales, and Marketing fields.
According to Elijus Čivilis, General Manager at Invest Lithuania, Fortress Factoring is a harbinger of Lithuania’s expanding relationship with Taiwan, especially in the technology sector.
