Global trade has been in a slump, in part due to ongoing economic pressures in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, with some glimmers of recovery on the horizon, a startup that’s built business around tools to enable B2B trading has raised some money and is launching a JV that it hopes will kickstart further activity.

Tradeshift — a platform for building B2B payments, supply chain procurement and B2B marketplace services — has raised $70 million, money that it will be using to scale its business network, which it says already has more than 1 million users, including big names like food giant Danone and the U.K.’s National Health Service.

Areas where it said it plans to invest include adding more SaaS, B2B marketplace and embedded financial services. It is also considering some acquisitions, it added.

The round is being led by HSBC, which is putting in $35 million, with participation also from AYTK Limited, LUN Partners Group, Fuel Venture Capital, Doha Venture Capital LLC, Notion Capital, IDC Ventures and The Private Shares Fund. All are existing shareholders.Alongside HSBC’s capital injection, the banking giant is embarking on a new joint venture with its portfolio company. Together, the two plan to build a financing operation to complement Tradeshift’s business, which is set to launch in early 2024.

HSBC has lately been doubling down on financing services for technology-based businesses — earlier this year it picked up the assets of the failed SVB in the U.K. and recently rebranded them as HSBC Innovation Banking — and this new JV, while entirely separate, extends that part of its wider business strategy.

“Enabling and growing global trade has been in HSBC’s DNA for almost 160 years,” said Barry O’Byrne, CEO of Global Commercial Banking at HSBC, in a statement. “We are very excited to partner with Tradeshift to help businesses and their suppliers trade more smoothly using world-class technology and solutions that the joint venture will deliver. This agreement supports our strategy of being a digital first bank, which includes our commitment to partnering with fintechs and embedding our solutions into the platforms of others.”