AppDirect Inc., the cloud-based business commerce platform provider, is launching a new initiative called AppDirect Capital aimed at providing its technology partners with a more flexible form of financing to power their growth.

The fund is being launched in partnership with the global investment group Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. Together with AppDirect, CDPQ is investing $80 million into the fund, which is said to offer various innovative funding options to help drive growth and enable the transformation of channel partners.

AppDirect sells a cloud marketplace platform that organizations use to build their own marketplaces. It has some big-name customers, including Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Telstra Corp. Ltd., Automatic Data Processing Inc. and Deutsche Telekom.

That said, AppDirect’s latest funding initiative is aimed at the much smaller players that use its platform. CPDQ’s investment will help to accelerate its existing AppSmart Invest program, which was launched earlier in the year in order to help AppDirect’s technology partners scale their business with its AppSmart product.

AppSmart is a division of AppDirect that aims to help channel partners scale their recurring revenue businesses. Under the AppSmart Invest program, the founders of technology partners get to retain 100% ownership and control of their businesses, unlike traditional venture capital funding. They also gain access to the AppSmart brand, digital back office tools and the AppSmart Marketplace, where they can offer clients a vast ecosystem of software and services.

“With the launch of AppDirect Capital, we will be able to bolster our AppSmart Invest program while building a catalog of financial products to help advisors grow and scale their business,” promised AppDirect co-founder and Chief Executive Daniel Saks. “AppDirect Capital is purpose-built for channel partners and offers them simple, hassle-free access to funding that enables them freedom to grow their business on their terms.”

The promise of AppSmart Invest is a faster and less onerous alternative to traditional financing or mergers and acquisitions, and the program has already backed a number of AppDirect’s partners, among them NXTSYS Consulting LLC.

“AppSmart Invest has been a complete game changer for us, allowing us to double down on our growth while keeping 100% ownership and control of our business,” said Dave Wallace, president of NXTSYS Consulting. “The investment has also allowed us to fund the development of an entirely new business that we believe will be transformative to our future — providing businesses with Extended Reality solutions — which wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.”

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