A trading house built for a more complex world.
White Whale GmbH was founded in November 2023 by Jonas Smietana, after two decades operating across international sales, strategic procurement and distribution. From our Vienna headquarters we finance, secure, distribute and actively develop markets across Eastern Europe, Africa, South & Central Asia and selected emerging corridors.
Headquarters · Vienna, Austria
We operate at the intersection of four connected practices: trade finance, market access & distribution, cruise & yachting, and offshore & container supply.
We are not a broker and not a classical export advisor. Most firms occupy one narrow function. We were built deliberately as an integrated operating platform, because the most demanding mandates in emerging markets sit precisely where capital, goods, certification, logistics and distribution overlap. An Eastern European importer needs both the goods and the letter-of-credit facility. A West African distributor needs not only product but the working-capital structure to receive it. Maritime and offshore operators need continuity, compliance and timing. We close that loop.
Vienna is not an accident. Austria's neutrality, its banking tradition and its position between European capital and the emerging corridors of the East make it the natural seat for the kind of work we do.
Four principles that govern every mandate.
Discretion
We protect the privacy of our counterparties as a matter of institutional habit, not policy.
Capital intelligence
Every transaction is structured for capital efficiency and downside protection — never for volume alone.
Operational depth
Our logistics team operates with the same institutional standard as our finance practice. Execution is the product.
Long horizons
We build counterparty relationships measured in decades, not deals. The book speaks for itself.