ICYMI funding round-up: Toqio, Coincover, AREX Markets, Lidya & more
At FinTech Futures, we know that it can be easy to let funding announcements slip you by in this fast-paced industry. That’s why we put together our weekly ‘In Case You Missed It’ (ICYMI) funding round-up for you to get the latest funding news.
The Toqio team
White label digital finance firm Toqio has raised $9.4 million in Seed funding from a round led by Seata Ventures and Speedinvest. Six FinTech Ventures also participated.
Founded in 2019, the firm gives users access to pre-built products to help them create digital banking services quickly.
Customers can also design card, financing, and marketplace solutions aimed at financial institutions.
“Businesses and banks are looking to innovate in the fintech sector, but to date, they have had to create and maintain complex software solutions to do this,” Eduardo Martínez, Toqio co-founder and CEO, tells TechCrunch.
“We don’t want fintech to end up like banking just with a new set of big incumbents trying to take control of financial services.”
Wales-based crypto start-up Coincover has raised $9.2 million in Series A funding in a round led by Element Ventures.
DRW Venture Capital, CMT Digital, Avon Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, and others participated.
Coincover says it can help firms reduce the risk of theft and cover the loss of cryptocurrency cold wallets.
Founded in 2018 and based in Cardiff, the firm counts BitGo, Curv, and Fireblocks as customers.
SME financing firm AREX Markets has raised €8.8 million in a Series A round from Mosaic Ventures and LocalGlobe.
AREX aims to lower financing costs for small businesses and give them access to cash quicker. The funds acquired will be used to expand the firm’s business operations across the UK and Spain.
“Our goal is to level the playing field for SME financing,” says CEO Airto Vienola. “Banks remain reluctant to lend to SMEs, often leading to them feeling trapped when it comes to their business finances.”
New York-based SME lender Lidya has raised $8.3 million in pre-Series B funding.
The firm says it will use its new cash to grow its lending operations for SMEs across its African and European markets.
The funding round was led by Alitheia Capital (via the uMunthu Fund) with participation from Bamboo Capital Partners, Accion Venture Lab, and Flourish Ventures.
“Our more than 90% customer repeat rate in Nigeria and Europe demonstrates that we are providing a service that SMEs need,” says co-founder and CEO Tunde Kehinde.
Dutch payments security firm Fraudio has raised £3.3 million in a Seed funding round.
Fraudio says it uses proprietary and patented AI technology to monitor transactions in real time.
It offers payment fraud detection, merchant-initiated fraud detection (for PSPs and acquirers), and money laundering detection.
Its client base includes Viva Wallet, Borgun, Novalnet, and PagueloFacil.
“We’re really happy with our mix of investors in this round,” says co-founder Nathan Trousdell.
“We believe they bring a lot of relevant industry expertise and a vast network within the payments and security ecosystems.”
Savings and investment app Hugo has raised $2 million to fund its launch in Singapore.
The firm combines a range of savings features, including round-ups, utilities switching, and smart investments.
Chief operating officer and co-founder Ben Davies also co-founded Glint in 2015. The $2 million funding comes from CEO David Fergusson’s Nimoi Holdings and 1982 Ventures.
SeedBlink secured €3 million in a Series A
Investment platform SeedBlink has secured €1.2 million from Catalyst Romania II in a €3 million Series A round.
SeedBlink claims to have the highest growth in Europe for an investment company in terms of collected amounts.
The company says it aims to democratise the investment process by combining the visibility of crowdfunding with the flexibility of business angels.
UK-based StepEx has raised £1.1 million in pre-Seed financing in conjunction with the London Business School.
The firm is aiming to offer students the ability to pay back their tuition via a percentage of their earnings over a fixed period.
The payback is triggered on completion of a course and when they cross an agreed salary threshold.
“Outcome-based finance opens up enormous economic opportunities for people who would otherwise be priced out of the kind of courses that unlock significantly higher earning potential,” says CEO Daniel George.
