Asaak, a Ugandan asset financing startup, has secured $30 million in pre-Series A equity and debt funding. The round saw the participation of new and existing investors including Resolute Ventures, Social Capital, HOF Capital, Founders Factory Africa, End Poverty Make Trillions, Decentralized VC and a number of angel investors. Asaak offers motorbike financing to operators, […]
Fintech and insurtech innovation in Brazil set to take off on regulatory tailwinds
In a country where many people are still unbanked, and queuing to pay bills is part of daily life, the impact of being able to pay anyone instantly can’t be understated.
Can you build centralized islands in a decentralized ocean?
Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. We’re getting back up to full speed this week, so Mary Ann and Alex along with Grace behind the scenes took on our Friday show. Next week Natasha and Chris are back, and […]
Southeast Asian startups to watch in 2022
As someone who covers Southeast Asia startups and funding stories, the best word I can think of to describe 2021 is “whoa!” This was the year that global investors not only started to pay close attention to the region’s tech ecosystems, but also began putting real money into them. Backed by international LPs, Southeast Asia-focused […]
Skio raises $3.7M to help brands on Shopify sell subscriptions
Skio, a startup that aims to take the pain out of selling subscriptions for brands on Shopify, has raised $3.7 million in a seed funding round. Kennan Davison, an engineer who previously worked at Hulu and Pinterest, founded the startup in April. He describes Skio as a fintech and an infrastructure company as a pivot […]
Serial fintech founder raises $20M for Ant Money to make micro-investing even more accessible
Serial fintech entrepreneur Walter Cruttenden founded Acorns with his son, Jeff, in 2012 with the goal of helping low- and middle-income households invest and save responsibly. The pair wanted to simplify investing for the millions that have trouble getting started or continuing to invest. Then in 2018, Walter went live with a new company — […]
Indian fintech giant Razorpay valued at $7.5 billion in $375 million funding
Razorpay has more than doubled its valuation to $7.5 billion from $3 billion in April as one of India’s largest fintech giants demonstrates fast growth and aggressively broadens its product offerings. The Bangalore-headquartered startup, which is a market leader in payments processing in India, said Sunday evening it has raised $375 million in its Series […]
Lydia grabs another $100 million for its European financial super app
Just a few weeks after announcing stock and crypto trading, French fintech startup Lydia is announcing that it has raised a $100 million Series C round. With this funding round, the startup has reached a unicorn valuation, which means that it is currently valued at more than $1 billion. Dragoneer and Echo Street are investing […]
Visa hopes its new crypto consulting arm will help it become cooler than its competition
The world’s largest card company just doubled down on its bid to capture the crypto market. Visa announced today that it has launched a crypto advisory practice for its clients and partners under its Visa Consulting and Analytics (VCA) arm. The news comes just a few months after Cuy Sheffield, Visa’s head of crypto, declared […]
Mexican BNPL player Kueski secures $202M in debt & equity as it nears $100M+ in ARR
Kueski, a Mexico City-based “buy now, pay later” and online consumer lender, announced today it has secured $202 million in equity and debt funding. StepStone Group (which recently acquired Greenspring Capital) led the $102 million equity round and Victory Park Capital led the $100 million debt financing. StepStone was joined by other new investors including […]