Aprila Bank is a new niche bank from Norway, funded with $20M from investors including Alliance Ventures and FJ Labs

Aprila Bank, an Oslo, Norway-based company providing niched banking services closed NOK 170M ($21M) in financing for launching its operations.

The money, which came through more financing rounds during 2017, included friends and family as well as seasoned investors including Alliance Ventures and FJ Labs.

At the end of 2017, Aprila has initiated a financing round whereas Beringer Finance acted as joint manager for the NOK 150M share placement in the bank.

The round, which valued Aprila at NOK 49M ($6M) pre money, is still in closing phase and the proceeds will be used to fulfill the NFSA requirements for regulatory capital for Aprila Bank and ensure capital adequacy to support the company’s business plan.

Aprila Bank was founded at the beginning of 2017 by Arild Spandow and Per Christian Goller and aims to be a highly automated niche bank focusing on intuitive on-the-spot financing solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises.