Financial Inclusion
Photo credit: Paul Langlois-Meurinne.
Dealflow | November 30, 2021
Nigerian B2B marketplace Sabi raises $6 million to support Africa’s informal businesses
ImpactAlpha, November 30 — Lagos-based Sabi is among a wave of enterprise tech ventures applying technology to fix market failures and inefficiencies. Sabi’s …
Photo credit: Global Banking Finance.
Dealflow | November 30, 2021
Jefa raises $2 million for fintech services for women in Latin America
ImpactAlpha, November 30 — Women make up more than half of the world’s unbanked population. Jefa, a Mexico City-based neobank, is helping women …
EarlyBird founders Caleb Frankel and Jordan Wexler. Photo credit: EarlyBird.
Dealflow | November 23, 2021
EarlyBird raises $4 million to help parents invest for their children
ImpactAlpha, November 23 — The Chicago-based fintech EarlyBird is on a mission to help low- and middle-income American families build generational wealth. Its …
Frontier and Growth Markets | November 19, 2021
Call No. 34: How tech innovation is bridging gaps in small business financing in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, November 19 – The boom in African fintech startups began before COVID-19. The economic shutdowns and financial dislocations of the pandemic supercharged …
Photo credit: ZenBusiness.
Dealflow | November 17, 2021
ZenBusiness raises $200 million to scale support for micro-entrepreneurs
ImpactAlpha, November 17 — Austin-based public benefit corporation ZenBusiness, which has helped more than 200,000 U.S. micro-entrepreneurs start their businesses, is bringing on …
Innovative Finance | November 16, 2021
How The People’s Fund is unlocking capital for small businesses from the crowd up
ImpactAlpha, November 16 – South Africa’s Black-owned businesses were systematically shut out of economic opportunities under the country’s racist aparthied regime. Now, even …
Photo credit: Stori.
Dealflow | November 16, 2021
Stori rakes in $200 million to advance financial inclusion for underserved consumers
ImpactAlpha, November 16 — Traditional banks have excluded hundreds of millions of people in Mexico and the rest of Latin America from access …
Frontier and Growth Markets | November 10, 2021
African startups develop crypto tools for inclusive prosperity
ImpactAlpha, November 10 – Nelly Chatue-Diop was a teenager in 1994 when her family lost much of their savings overnight with the devaluation …
Photo credit: Pezesha
Frontier and Growth Markets | November 9, 2021
How technology is disrupting small-business financing in emerging markets – in a good way
ImpactAlpha, November 9 – The COVID-19 pandemic could have been development finance’s moment to shine. Such quasi-public investors, after all, have been trying …
Founders Cate Rung and Brendan Playford. Photo credit: Pngme.
Dealflow | November 8, 2021
Aruwa Capital invests in Pngme to use phone data to improve lending in Africa
ImpactAlpha, November 8 — Lagos-based private equity fund manager, Aruwa Capital Management, invests in growth-stage businesses in Africa, primarily in Nigeria and Ghana. …
Photo credit: ImpactAlpha
Signals | November 3, 2021
Investments in agtech, fintech and climate tech can speed Kenya’s COVID recovery
ImpactAlpha, November 3 – Daily life is gradually returning to normal in Kenya 19 months into the pandemic. But businesses and jobs have …
Illustration by The Nation.
Dealflow | October 21, 2021
SMBX raises $11.5 million to democratize small business lending
ImpactAlpha, October 21 — San Francisco-based SMBX raised $11.5 million to democratize financing for small businesses. Launched in 2016, SMBX lets retail investors …
Illustration by Pacific 8.
Dealflow | October 21, 2021
Republic raises $150 million to ride the growth of equity crowdfunding
ImpactAlpha, October 21 — Roughly 250,000 retail investors are funding startups and small businesses online each month. That trend has spurred fundraising for …
Photo credit: Ejara
Innovative Finance | October 21, 2021
Cameroon’s Ejara raises $2 million for impact-focused crypto
ImpactAlpha, October 21 – Crypto is having a moment in Africa. Dozens of African fintechs promising to democratize access to cryptocurrencies across the …
Dealflow | October 19, 2021
Sudan’s first foreign venture capital investment in 30 years: $5 million for Alsoug.com
ImpactAlpha, October 19 — Macroeconomic, political and currency risks can make investors wary of infrastructure and private equity in Africa (for context, see …
Dealflow | October 14, 2021
LeapFrog leads CarDekho’s $250 million raise for its online car marketplace in India
ImpactAlpha, October 14 — Jaipur-based CarDekho partners with fintech lenders and car insurance companies to provide flexible financing for new and used cars. …
Kenyan farmer | Photo credit: Jen Watson
Catalytic Capital | October 13, 2021
Researchers ready a dozen-plus deep dives into the complexities of catalytic capital
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 13 – Aceli Africa provides a first-loss cushion of up to 8% to lenders as a way to spur them to back …
Photo credit: TechFinancials.
Catalytic Capital | October 13, 2021
Lendable taps European alternative structure for $100 million emerging markets fund
ImpactAlpha, October 13 — Lendable provides debt financing for fintechs that help mostly low-income and largely women borrowers increase their incomes or reduce …
LOOP's founders | Photo credit: LOOP.
Dealflow | October 5, 2021
LOOP secures $21 million to make car insurance more equitable
ImpactAlpha, October 5 — The average cost of car insurance for a good driver with good credit in the U.S. is $1,592 per …
Agents of Impact | October 1, 2021
Oraan’s Halima Iqbal and Farwah Tapal: Digitizing women’s savings circles in Pakistan
ImpactAlpha, October 1 – Halima Iqbal didn’t plan to start her own fintech company when she returned to Pakistan in 2018, after years …
Photo credit: Konfio
Dealflow | September 30, 2021
Softbank funding helps make Konfio and Andela emerging market impact unicorns
ImpactAlpha, September 30 – Mexico-based Konfio and New York-based Andela both got their start seven to eight years ago with a message of …
Photo credit: gnuGrid
Clean Energy | September 23, 2021
Uganda’s gnuGrid pivots from solar data to financial data
ImpactAlpha, September 23 – Kampala-based gnuGrid launched in 2019 as a data and payments intermediary for home solar providers and microgrid operators and …
Image credit: Dopay
Dealflow | September 22, 2021
Dopay raises $18 million to bank Egypt’s businesses and their workers
ImpactAlpha, September 22 – London and Cairo-based Dopay strategy for financial inclusion: offer financial services to businesses – and then signs up their …
Photo credit: Poverty Action Lab.
Dealflow | September 20, 2021
Lendable backs Finclusion Group to drive financial inclusion for underserved Africans
ImpactAlpha, September 21 — Singapore’s Finclusion Group offers credit and financial services through a variety of consumer brands in Africa. It has deployed …
Dealflow | September 20, 2021
Australia’s Verve Super raises early venture financing to manage its women-centered retirement fund
ImpactAlpha, September 20 – Verve Super launched in 2018 to offer Australian women a responsibly invested “superannuation,” or retirement, fund matched to women’s …
Photo credit: Boost
Frontier and Growth Markets | September 15, 2021
New channel of capital for small businesses worldwide: enterprise tech startups
ImpactAlpha, September 15 – There’s no shortage of capital for global small business lending. What have blocked small businesses from access to working capital, …
Photo credit: Pezesha
Dealflow | September 14, 2021
Two African fintechs raise early rounds to connect informal businesses to capital
ImpactAlpha, September 14 – Small businesses in emerging markets are often shut out of traditional financial services because they’re deemed too risky to …
Photo credit: Ayoconnect.
Dealflow | September 7, 2021
Ayoconnect scores $10 million to advance financial inclusion in Indonesia
ImpactAlpha, September 7 — The fintech’s software platform helps banking and other partners collect data to offer more inclusive financial services for Indonesians. …
Photo credit: FIdelity Bank Ghana
Dealflow | August 24, 2021
LeapFrog takes a stake in Ghana’s Fidelity Bank to expand access to financial services
ImpactAlpha, August 24 – More than 40% of adults in Ghana don’t have a bank account. Fidelity Bank Ghana, one of the country’s …
Photo credit: Moove
Dealflow | August 11, 2021
Nigeria’s Moove raises $23 million to finance vehicles for Africa’s transit drivers
ImpactAlpha, August 11 – Lagos-based Moove partners with ride-hailing and logistics companies to extend vehicle financing to drivers. The company uses alternative credit …
Dealflow | August 9, 2021
Rise Fund backs Human Interest’s $200 million round
ImpactAlpha, August 9 – Employee benefits like health insurance and retirement plans are often too expensive for small and mid-sized businesses. San Francisco-based …
Squire's co-founders, Songe LaRon and Dave Salvant. Photo credit: Squire.
Dealflow | July 29, 2021
Squire scores $80 million to help barbershops manage their businesses
ImpactAlpha, July 29 — The New York-based company’s software helps over 2,000 barbershop owners in North America and the U.K. with online scheduling …
Yoco's founders | Photo credit: Yoco.
Dealflow | July 28, 2021
South African fintech Yoco raises $83 million for small-business lending
ImpactAlpha, July 28 — The Cape Town-based platform provides digital payments and other financial services to more than 150,000 small business owners in …
Photo credit: MarketForce
Dealflow | July 12, 2021
Kenya’s MarketForce raises $2 million to digitize small businesses and streamline supply chains
ImpactAlpha, July 12 – The pandemic inspired a wave of enterprise technology providers to help businesses go online (see, “Helping small businesses in …
Photo credit: Zeepay
Signals | July 8, 2021
Inclusive fintech is the first stop for impact venture capital in Africa
ImpactAlpha, July 8 – Small business loans. Digital payments. Free remittances. Venture investors looking for deals in Africa are stocking their pipelines with …
Photo credit: BBVA.
Dealflow | July 7, 2021
Pomona Impact backs Mexican neobank Vexi
ImpactAlpha, July 7 – Mexico City-based Vexi aims to serve underbanked Mexicans with credit cards and a mobile app for managing transactions and budgeting. …
Photo credit: Getty Images.
ESG | June 30, 2021
J.P. Morgan acquires OpenInvest to customize clients’ ESG portfolios
ImpactAlpha, June 30 — San Francisco-based robo-advisor OpenInvest launched in 2015 with the ambitious goal of democratizing impact investing, and attracted investment from …
Photo credit: Arlan Hamilton.
Dealflow | June 23, 2021
Backstage Capital portfolio companies raise follow-on investments
ImpactAlpha, June 23 — Arlan Hamilton created Backstage Capital in 2015 to back “underestimated” founders and unlock value (see, “Arlan Hamilton, Backstage Capital”). …
Hello Alice co-founders Elizabeth Gore and Carolyn Rodz | Photo credit: Pocho Sanchez.
Dealflow | June 15, 2021
Women-led Hello Alice scores $21 million to support small business owners
ImpactAlpha, June 15 — Houston, Texas-based Hello Alice helps 500,000 small business owners around the world access capital and resources. Its COVID-19 Business …
Photo credit: iStock.com
The Reconstruction | June 14, 2021
Micron backs women-owned Seelaus Asset Management to advance housing equity
ImpactAlpha, June 14 — Boise, Idaho-based Micron Technology last year committed $50 million to an impact strategy managed by RBC Global Asset Management …
Photo credit: El CEO.
Dealflow | June 9, 2021
Brazilian fintech Nubank rakes in $1.2 billion for Latam expansion
ImpactAlpha, June 9 — São Paulo-based Nubank launched in 2014 to provide underserved Brazilians no-fee, low-interest digital credit cards they could manage on …
Photo credit: Abhi
Financial Inclusion | June 8, 2021
Abhi raises $2 million to help Pakistani workers access earned wages
ImpactAlpha, June 8 – Nearly 80% of Pakistan’s 217 million people don’t have a bank account; just 1% have access to formal credit. Karachi-based …
Photo credit: Guild Education.
Dealflow | June 3, 2021
Guild Education secures $150 million to upskill frontline workers
ImpactAlpha, June 3 — Denver-based Guild Education has raised $150 million in a Series E round backed by Bessemer Venture Partners, Cowboy Ventures, …
Photo credit: Tulsa People.
The Reconstruction | June 2, 2021
One hundred years later, investing in the reconstruction of Black Wall Street
ImpactAlpha, June 2 — President Biden became the first president to commemorate the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre that destroyed the thriving Black community …
Photo credit: Financial Access.
Smallholder Agriculture | June 2, 2021
IDH Farmfit Fund acquires stake in LendXS to expand lending to smallholder farmers
ImpactAlpha, June 2 — Approximately 270 million smallholder farmers worldwide live in poverty; few banks are willing to extend them credit due to …