SASKATOON -- Vendasta has announced $119.5 million in financing to grow sales of its ecommerce platform for companies who provide digital products and services to small and medium businesses (SMBs) worldwide.

“Vendasta is solving some of the biggest challenges facing businesses today. The majority of SMBs are struggling to purchase, implement, and use technology solutions. Our platform is quickly becoming the de facto operating system for both small businesses and the technology providers serving them,” Vendasta CEO Brendan King said in a news release.

“This investment allows us to accelerate our timeline to completely redefine and democratize the way technology, software, and services are delivered to SMBs.”

Based in Saskatoon, Vendasta employs more than 500 people and says it plans to hire up to 150 employees in the coming year.

Vendasta experienced strong growth through 2020 and 2021 as COVID-19 accelerated the adoption of digital technology by small businesses, the release said.

The company says it earns annual recurring revenue of more than $50 million and has a reach of five million SMBs.

The financing is led by New York-based Lugard Road Capital, joined by Nicola Wealth, the Canadian Business Growth Fund (CBGF) and a set of existing investors.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with the Vendasta team as they continue to revolutionize how SMBs discover, access, purchase, and ultimately interact with software to better their businesses,” Doug Friedman, partner at Lugard Road Capital, said in the release.

“We see Vendasta being very well-positioned to continue to grow and adapt in an ever-changing environment,” added Kazuki Nohdomi, Portfolio Manager at Nicola Wealth.

“Considering the secular shift to digital marketing and ecommerce, and the need for small business owners to take advantage of that, we feel this is a great opportunity that fits well in our diversified portfolio.”