Nigeria-based fintech startup, Anchor has received over $1M in investment to help expand its workforce and services. The startup fund program is backed by fund program, Y Combinator, and other venture capital firms, including Byld Ventures, Luno Expeditions, Niche Capital, Mountain Peak Capital, and angel investors such as the founder of SeamlessHR, Emmanuel Okeleji. Co-founded in 2021 by Segun Adeyemi, Olamide Sobowale, and Gbekeloluwa Olufotebi, the banking-as-a-service platform, allows consumers to embed accounts, cards, payments, lending, and other financial features to their products within minutes. “We’re now seeing a new development where businesses want to
Float, a Ghanaian cash flow and spend management platform, has completed a full acquisition of the Nigerian accounting platform, Accounteer. This Nigerian subscription-based cloud-based accounting service combines bookkeeping, tax prep, and financial advisory services all in one platform for African businesses, for an undisclosed amount. Founded in 2015 by Merijn Campsteyn, Accounteer allows users to create invoices, track expenses, and register payments, among other things. The venture-backed company provides accounting software that allows businesses to continue operations offline. According to previous reports – this deal comes eight months after Float closed its
Black-owned real estate tech startup, Rhove, has announced its new partnership with housing changemakers in New Orleans to promote economic inclusion. The partnership, which includes Forward Together New Orleans, The Mayor’s Fund, and The Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance (GNOHA), will provide a grant to fund credit to help 2,000 residents invest in commercial real estate using the Rhove app. Rhove, founded by Calvin Cooper, is a fintech company designed to empower everyone to invest in and own real estate. The company, located in Ohio, is on a mission to
Working in venture capital after business school, Kelly Ifill has seen how difficult it can be for Black entrepreneurs to raise money through the earliest rounds of fundraising, known as the friends and family round, designed to help fledgling startups get off the ground. As the cozy term suggests, founders are expected to secure investments ranging from $10,000 to $150,000 from trusted, well-heeled contacts to serve as seed money before moving on to more significant investments from angel and institutional investors. But it’s not always easy for some groups to
Investment firm Twenty Five Ventures recently announced the launch of their diversity fund: 25V Diversity Fund. The venture capital firm aims to invest up to $10 million in early-stage real estate, property, and fintech startups led by Black and Latinx entrepreneurs. Twenty-Five Ventures, founded in 2020 by Maximillian Diez, works to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem that allows everyone to access financial and knowledge-based resources where founders and investors can thrive. According to a Crunchbase report, Black and Latinx founders receive less funding than non-minority counters. So, despite recent figures showing
Black-owned fintech startup, Guava, has closed a pre-seed funding round of $2.4 million. The funding round, which Heron Rock led, also included investment firm Ruthless for Good Fund, Precursor Ventures, Backstage Capital, and angel investors Lexi Reese and Ed Zimmerman. Guava, founded in 2021 by Kelly Ifill, helps Black-owned businesses bank and build community. The banking and networking platform works to close the racial wealth gap by aiding small Black companies and creators with the tools needed to scale and grow their businesses. The digital platform, which is yet to
San Francisco-based fintech company, TomoCredit, has raised $122 million in funding and debt financing. The funding round was led by Morgan Stanley’s Next Level Fund and included Morgan Stanley’s Next Level Fund, MasterCard, and debt from Silicon Valley Bank. The funding will help the platform expand its credit product offerings to help support immigrants with no credit history in the US. TomoCredit, co-founded in 2018 by Kristy Kim and Dmitry Kashlev, is a fintech platform dedicated to providing the next generation with a credit card designed to help millennials boost
Mexico City-based fintech platform, Arrenda, has raised $26.5 million in a pre-seed funding round of equity and debt. The funding round, which Fasanara Capital and Kube Ventures led, also included ODX Ventures, Toehold Ventures, Wharton Fintech, Lightspeed Venture Partners Scour Fund, PRMM Inmobiliaria, and a range of angel investors. Arrenda, founded in 2022 by Joe Merullo, is a revenue-based startup that works to provide market-specific insurance and financial products to the real estate markets and landlords of Latin America. Not only does it offer advance payments to landlords, but it
Bizao has raised $8.15 million in Series A funding. The funding round was led by AfricInvest, Adelie, and Seedstars Africa Ventures and will help the platform accelerate its expansion, helping them provide services to citizens across the continent. Bizao, founded in 2019 by Aurélien Duval-Delort, helps companies accept all local payment methods across Africa. The tech platform uses powerful APIs and advanced financial flows to simplify the challenge of getting Mobile Money, Visa/Mastercard, and Airtime payments. The outlet powers all businesses: local retailers, online merchants, international digital content providers, money
Kinly has announced a new partnership with data aggregation platform MX, a financial data aggregation tool, to help the company build and enhance its custom-built financial tools. The Atlanta-based financial tech company, Kinly, is dedicated to helping Black Americans build generational wealth. The platform offers members a range of benefits, including a Visa debit card and early wage access. In addition, it gives members access to financial education to help them improve their economic outcomes. The partnership with MX will see the platform introduce a range of embeddable user interfaces
