Black-led fintech startup, Moove, raises $20 million in investment funding from the British International Investment (BII) program, formerly known as the CDC. The investment reflects the BII’s plans to build a resilient market in Nigeria, providing access to various economic opportunities for upcoming businesses while simultaneously accelerating the country’s limitless entrepreneurial spirit. Moove, co-founded by Jidi Odunsi and Ladi Delano in 2020, is a mobility fintech platform that provides revenue-based vehicle financing to mobility entrepreneurs across Africa. The co-founders, both British-born Nigerians with degrees from the London School of Economics
Atlanta-based digital Fintech company Greenwood recently announced the acquisition of Black-owned networking platform Valence. The partnership will provide millions of Black professionals access to new career opportunities. Valence, which Kobie Fuller co-founded with Emily Slade and LaMer Walker in 2019, is a leading recruitment platform that helps connect, empower, and showcase Black professionals. In addition, the networking platform, which was launched to address the lack of diversity within leadership roles, has provided alternative routes for professionals whose skin color may have played a role in how they were perceived in
London-based venture capital firm, Octopus Ventures, has launched its first £10 million ($12 million) pre-seed fund to support fresh startups in the fintech and health sectors. The firm, founded in 2007, works to fill the growing gap in early pre-seed funding for European founders. Kirsten Connell and Maria Rotilu, veterans of Seedcamp and Uber, will lead the company’s first-ever investment fund. They will bring their extensive experience and knowledge of growing firms from the beginning to the job, enabling them to work closely with start-ups in their early years. Octopus
You might have read the article published last year on the Silicon Valley employee who hid his disability from his employers. In an in-depth piece about his experiences, they started off by saying: “I have a learning disability, meaning that I learn differently from other people. I live and work in Silicon Valley, the natural habitat of road runners. I’ve spent my professional life as one of those worker bees who creates the widgets and doodads that make life a little easier. For the sake of this story—and my employability—let’s
African fintech Flutterwave has raised $250 million in a Series D round that tripled the company’s valuation to over $3 billion in justtwelve months.
Ghanaian startup Float has picked up a significant round of funding with $17M already in the bag in the first few weeks of the year. The fintech which provides credit lines for businesses says the funding will be used to bolster its offerings and expand around the globe. The seed round was a mix of $7 million equity and $10 million debt. While Cauris provided debt financing, Tiger Global and JAM Fund, the investment firm of Tinder co-founder Justin Mateen co-led the equity bit. Other VC firms involved in the equity round include Kinfolk,
Bfree, a Nigerian credit management fintech, has embarked on global expansion after raising $1.7 million in a pre-Series A round. It’s now on a massive recruitment drive for the 16 new markets in which it is setting up operations, including Ghana, India, Uganda, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Russia, Poland, Pakistan, and Indonesia. It was founded by Chukwudi Enyi, Moses Nmor, and Flosbach, who were reportedly looking to develop better, ethical, and tech-inspired debt-collection tools and processes after firsthand experience working for digital lenders in Nigeria. 4Di Capital, Octerra Capital, VestedWorld, Voltron Capital, Logos Ventures,
A fintech startup helping the Black community get financial freedom has reportedly reached its latest milestone of paying over $20 million in consumer debt. Qoins is currently attacking the $1.3 trillion worth of student loan debt and $951 Billion of credit card debt in the US. Users download the app from the iOS App Store or Google Play. You add your name, phone number, and email, then the accounts that you want Qoins to take change from and add to. The app monitors your checking, or “funding” account, for regular charges and rounds
Pamela Lujan From Latinas In Tech Believes It Takes A ‘Village’ To Make A Difference In The Industry
Board Member at ‘Latinas in Tech’ Pamela Lujan, who also works at firm Oportun, is helping pave the way for those in the community that wants to get into the tech scene. In her interview with the organization, where she also works as a secretary, the recent ‘Top 40 under 40’ honoree said it “takes a village” to make a difference in the industry and elevate the community. Currently, Black and Latino people are being “left out” of the tech industry, and big firms like Google still have a lot
