Latest news with #Barbosa
Axios
6 days ago
- Business
- Axios
Exclusive: OatFi nabs $24M for embedded B2B credit
OatFi, a startup providing an embedded working capital financing infrastructure, has raised $24 million in Series A funding, CEO Michael Barbosa tells Axios exclusively. How it works: OatFi partners with AP, AR, and B2B payment platforms to embed financing into invoice and payment workflows. Its APIs handle underwriting, origination, and capital deployment, which allows platforms to offer net terms and early payouts within their core systems. "We're building this credit layer that supports B2B payments, because a B2B payment is inherently a credit transaction," Barbosa says. The big picture: By standardizing embedded credit as a core part of B2B transactions, OatFi hopes to unlock liquidity for platforms, buyers, and suppliers. "The problem isn't so much the movement of the money; it's the workflow that sits on top of the movement of the money," Barbosa says. State of play: Embedded credit is becoming table stakes across B2B commerce and fintech infrastructure, with platforms like Square, Stripe, and Shopify already offering working capital to merchants based on payment flows. Meanwhile, standalone fintech lenders like Pipe, Parafin, and Settle target embedded lending through platform partnerships or direct integrations. Yes, but: Instead of bolting on a merchant cash advance product using payment data, OatFi embeds a full credit infrastructure inside AP and AR workflows, underwriting each transaction and funding it from its own warehouse lines. "Many are taking this classic, generation-one MCA strategy. That's very much not what we do," Barbosa says. Case in point: OatFi powers embedded financing for procurement tools like freight-forwarding platforms like Koverly, and spend management players like Cledara. By the numbers: The NYC-based company now works with over 20 partner platforms and says it has processed more than $500 million in total payment volume since launching in mid-2022. Zoom in: White Star Capital led the Series A round, which included participation from existing investors QED, Portage, and Lorimer Ventures.
Business Wire
03-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
OatFi Raises $24M to Build the Modern Credit Network for B2B Payments
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OatFi, the API-first fintech infrastructure company modernizing how B2B payments are financed, today announced it has raised a $24 million Series A led by White Star Capital, with continued participation from existing investors Portage and QED. OatFi solves one of the most fundamental pain points in B2B commerce: payment terms. By embedding its underwriting, origination, and funding capabilities directly into B2B payment platforms within their Accounts Payable (AP), Accounts Receivable (AR), and commercial charge card workflows, OatFi enables platforms to facilitate B2B transactions with built-in financing at the point where it's needed most. 'B2B payments are not just a money movement challenge—they're a data and workflow challenge,' comments Michael Barbosa, Co-founder & CEO of OatFi. 'That's why we've focused on deep API integrations that offer working capital solutions within the platforms that businesses already rely on to pay and get paid.' The company's API-first approach is purpose-built for integration into the existing workflows of AP/AR systems, issuer processors, and payment platforms. OatFi already counts leading infrastructure players like Unit, Transcard, and Galileo as partners, and has integrated with over 25 platforms over the past three years. In traditional B2B transactions, buyers and suppliers often operate on opposing cash flow incentives. Suppliers seek fast post-delivery payments to recover working capital, while buyers look to delay payments to preserve operating cash and liquidity. This fundamental misalignment has historically relied on outdated solutions like checks, or required suppliers to act as de facto lenders to their customers. OatFi solves this problem with a modern set of APIs that provides a seamless, behind-the-scenes credit layer that delivers the real-time underwriting, ledger and capital to facilitate these transactions. Through OatFi's APIs, parties on both sides of the transaction can operate on their terms without compromising working capital. 'Payment terms determine a business's cash flow conversion cycle—regardless of size,' Barbosa added. ' We're solving this problem where it matters most: at the point of invoicing and payment.' 'OatFi isn't a 'cherry on top' for B2B payment companies looking to unlock a new revenue stream,' said Eddie Lee, General Partner at White Star Capital. 'It delivers a table-stakes product that enables trusted B2B transactions in a world moving rapidly online. First-generation fintech lenders offering MCA products helped support merchants serving consumers. OatFi is helping platforms facilitate commerce between businesses, where the stakes—and the volumes—are even higher.' With this funding, OatFi will accelerate product development and integrations across AP, AR, and payments infrastructure providers – advancing its mission to build the modern credit network powering the $35 trillion in annual US B2B payments. About OatFi OatFi is building the modern credit network for B2B payments. Through API-first integrations with AP, AR, and commercial charge card platforms, OatFi enables financing at the point of transaction, solving payment term mismatches between businesses and facilitating more efficient business cash flow. For more information, visit
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Connecticut woman sentenced to 10.5 years for drug-related activities
BURLINGTON, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) – A 25-year-old Connecticut woman was sentenced to over 10 years imprisonment after pleading guilty to committing drug and firearm-related crimes in-state. Linoshka Barbosa, formerly of Hartford, CT helped distribute drugs to the Brattleboro area, according to court records. She was reportedly a member in a 'violent' CT gang called 'GMS', and helped lead drug-distribution efforts. Barbosa not only enlisted CT gang members to help deal cocaine base and fentanyl, but also hired Vermonters for the task. Barbosa trafficked 'large quantities of drugs', using a driver to transport some items. Drugs were reportedly dealt from Oak Street, Birge Street, Elliot Street and Linden Street. 'Numerous firearms' were also traded for drugs, including guns that had been used in Hartford shootings. Barbosa's involvement in this conspiracy took place between March 2020 and October 2023. She pleaded guilty on October 15, 2024, and has been detained since. Barbosa was sentenced to 10.5 years imprisonment Tuesday, with a three-year supervised release term. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Hartford woman sentenced in Vermont for drug trafficking
BURLINGTON, Vt. (WTNH) — A Hartford woman was sentenced to 126 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, last week for her role in drug trafficking in Battleboro, Vermont. Linoshka Barbosa, 25, also known as Lily and Lilz, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, crack cocaine and powder cocaine, and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. She has been detained since her guilty plea on Oct. 15, 2024. Waterbury man sentenced to 5 years for role in drug trafficking ring According to evidence and testimony, Barbosa was a member of the Hartford-based gang, 'GMS' and one of the leaders of a drug distribution operation in the Battleboro area involving cocaine, cocaine base, fentanyl, and numerous firearms between March 2020-Oct. 2023. Barbosa often used a driver from a ride-hailing company to transport large quantities of narcotics to Battleboro. She hired several people in Vermont and enlisted several other gang members from Connecticut to assist her in Vermont and the group dealt drugs from various locations. Barbosa and her associates traded drugs for guns, and some of those guns were used in shootings in Hartford, including a double homicide in August 2023. On March 30, 2023, a man was shot during a drug dispute at 14 Birge Street in Brattleboro. An investigation later revealed that Elias Lopez, a member of the conspiracy along with Barbosa, was involved in the shooting. Lopez has since pleaded guilty in state court for his role in the shooting, and will be sentenced in federal court on June 2. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Vancouver Sun
13-05-2025
- Vancouver Sun
Want to help save the Great Barrier Reef? Become an ecotourist
Peering over the boat's edge into the inky depths, I spot the unmistakable silhouettes of dorsal fins slicing through the surface. This was never on my bucket list, I thought to myself as I made my final preparations to enter their world. As a newly certified diver , night diving with sharks seemed more like a nightmare than an adventure. With one giant stride, I was off the boat, tightly gripping my flashlight as I began my descent. Surrounded by the comforting glow of fellow divers' lights, I was enveloped into a living aquarium teeming with marine mammals largely invisible during daylight hours. After counting 30 whitetip and grey reef sharks (who all ignored me), I realized my greatest fear was now my greatest thrill — and that I'd been watching far too many Shark Week marathons Little did I know, my adrenalin-fuelled plunge was actually contributing to conservation efforts, making me an accidental ecotourist in Australia's Great Barrier Reef . Plan your next getaway with Travel Time, featuring travel deals, destinations and gear. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Travel Time will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. One of the most diverse and spectacular ecosystems on Earth, the Great Barrier Reef stretches an impressive 2,300 kilometres on the northeast coast of Queensland. But this isn't just one continuous reef. The World Heritage wonder comprises over 3,000 individual reefs adorned with more than 600 types of coral, hosts over 1,600 fish species and more than 130 varieties of sharks and rays. With such extraordinary biodiversity, every plunge into the reef's turquoise waters promises surprising encounters. Yet the most frequent thing about the Great Barrier Reef you'll likely hear is that it's dead. 'Those bleaching reports did for the reef what Jaws did for sharks,' notes my dive instructor, Charlotte Barbosa, a PADI course director. 'The reports don't tell the whole story. Bleached doesn't mean dead — it means stressed. Bleaching has always occurred, but we're now monitoring how long these stress events last and how recovery unfolds.' True, stress events like rising temperatures, heavy rainfall and cyclones are happening more frequently, giving the reef less time to recover between them. And then there's visitors like me, mistaking the reef's natural neutral palette for bleaching. 'We lose colour the deeper we descend. Expectations need to match reality, and reality is that 80 per cent of all corals are brown, yellow and beige,' affirms Barbosa. The uplifting news? Travellers can leave this underwater paradise in even better condition than they found it. While overtourism and global warming typically threaten fragile ecosystems worldwide, the Great Barrier Reef represents a unique case where carefully managed ecotourism can help support conservation efforts and diving can be a strong regenerative travel practice. Each excursion includes a daily fee that goes directly to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority , funding vital education, research and protection efforts. 'It's worth visiting because it's magical — each part as beautiful as the next,' avows Mel Alps, a master reef guide. 'But visiting also protects it for the future. If people stop coming, we can't manage it properly, and it won't be here for future generations.' Want to play marine scientist for a day? Download the Eye on the Reef app and contribute valuable data during your underwater adventures. The information flows directly to authorities who use it to guide conservation decisions. During my scuba adventure through the Ribbon Reefs aboard the Spirit of Freedom dive boat, our group transformed into part-time marine scientists. Armed with underwater slates and pencils, we conducted rapid monitoring surveys, recording everything from fish species to coral impacts to promising new coral growth. Even getting scuba certified has regenerative benefits. When I upgraded my diving credentials with Diver's Den, a PADI Eco Center that operates our dive boat, a portion of my course fees supported PADI AWARE . This global conservation non-profit partners with the UN's Green Fins Program to minimize tourism's footprint on fragile ecosystems like coral reefs. The impact of visitor participation can be profound. Data collected through the Dive Against Debris citizen scientist program led Vanuatu to become the first country to ban single-use plastics. Thanks to similar community-collected evidence from Sydney Harbour, all Australian states and territories have enacted plastics policy changes. After days of diving aboard Spirit of Freedom, our group anchors at Lizard Island, a secluded national park 250 kilometres northeast of Cairns. Lizard Island Resort combines luxury with remarkable accessibility — just metres from shore, I floated overtop giant clams and beside technicolour fish. Beyond its five-star comforts, the island houses the renowned Lizard Island Research Station , which provides crucial scientific data for reef management. Resort guests can tour the facility, peer into aquariums meticulously maintained to mirror natural conditions, and have the opportunity to talk with passionate researchers whose work is making a difference. 'Reefs can and do bounce back from serious damage if the conditions are right,' says Emily Howells, co-director of Lizard Island Research Station. 'Just because the reef is in trouble doesn't mean it's not a wonderful place to visit. We have the data, and we know what the solution is. We as a society need to do our part to remove those pressures. We need action on an individual level and at the government level for policy setting,' notes Howells. My revelation came during my night dive when dozens of sharks glided past me with supreme indifference. These weren't the mindless killers of movie fame but graceful predators with zero interest in adding me to their menu. There's something transformative about floating alongside creatures you've been conditioned to fear. The reef delivers this reality check repeatedly: what we think we know from headlines rarely matches the complex underwater truth. People protect what they connect with. Lock eyes with a curious Maori wrasse, witness coral spawning under moonlight or share a wave with a sea turtle, and suddenly, abstract conservation concerns feel personal. The reef needs more than our Instagram posts — it needs voices, changed habits and tourist dollars directed to fund conservation efforts. The Great Barrier Reef hasn't given up its fight for survival, and one dive here will show you precisely why it's worth joining that battle.
