ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Zanifu, Koverly, Micronotes & 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.
Kenyan fintech start-up Zanifu, which provides working capital financing for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Africa, has raised $11.2 million in a pre-Series A funding round.
According to TechCrunch, the funding consists of a mix of debt and equity, and the round was led by Beyond Capital Ventures and Variant Investments, with participation from Founders Factory Africa, AAIC Investment, Google Black Founders Fund and existing investor Launch Africa.
With the new funding, Zanifu plans to expand its operations within Kenya, putting its Ghana and Uganda expansion plans on hold till the firm reaches profitability, TechCrunch reports.
US-based B2B payment solutions provider Koverly has raised $7.6 million in seed funding from Accomplice VC, Vinyl Capital and One Way Ventures.
Koverly raises $7.6m
Founded in 2021, Koverly provides domestic and international payment facilities, claiming to currently process $200 million in annualised volume for both.
Alongside the funding announcement, it has also introduced a new buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) solution that gives a 30-day extension on FX payments at no cost to the buyer or seller.
With the new funding, it aims to build “the first” payment platform that combines foreign currency and B2B cashflow management designed for international business trade, such as importing, and aims to originate $70 million in new loans over the next year.
US-based fintech firm Micronotes has secured a $2 million extension to its $5.5 million Series C round, bringing the total capital raised in the round to $7.5 million.
The $2 million was invested by BankTech Ventures (BTV) and the previous $5.5 million was led by Experian Ventures with participation from existing Micronotes investors, including TTV Capital, who led its Series B round.
Founded by tech entrepreneurs from MIT, Micronotes is based in Boston and leverages big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and consumer engagement technologies to boost deposits, loans and retentions for financial institutions.
UK-based accounting and financial management platform for multi-entity businesses, Translucent, has secured £5 million in a seed round co-led by Chalfen Ventures and LocalGlobe.
Translucent secures £5m
The latest round follows a £2.7 million pre-seed round held less than six months ago, bringing its total funding to £7.7 million.
Launched in 2022 and based in London, UK, Translucent helps solve financial management problems for multi-entity businesses by unifying their financial data into a single location where it can be seen, used and edited.
The platform was founded by CEO Michael Wood, who had previously co-founded Dext, (formerly Receipt Bank), which was acquired by Hg in 2021 for “several hundred million GBP, one of the UK’s largest SaaS exits”.
The funding will be used to develop new functions within the platform and cater to the “significant” market demand for its solution.
Australia-based crypto lender Maple has closed a $5 million funding round led by BlockTower Capital and Tioga Capital.
The round also saw participation from Room40 Ventures, Cherry Crypto, Spartan Capital, GSR Ventures and Veris Ventures, as well as existing backers Maven 11 and Framework Ventures.
“The funding initiates a multi-year, comprehensive growth roadmap designed to see Maple establish itself beyond DeFi and into the world of traditional finance as a leading lending marketplace and technology platform,” Maple says in a statement.
The roadmap includes a planned expansion into the Asia Pacific (APAC) and Latin America (LatAm) regions, the forging of new partnerships and the development of its decentralised technology.
Turkish paytech Craftgate Technology, a “one-stop shop” payment orchestration platform, has received $1 million from Hepsiburada and D4 Ventures.
Craftgate raises $1m
Based in İstanbul, Craftgate helps e-commerce companies integrate and manage the virtual point-of-sale (POS) of banks, payment and e-money institutions, alternative and international payment methods, from a single platform.
Some of its solutions include virtual POS payment and e-money integration, smart and dynamic payment routing, card storage, one-click payment, recurring payments, closed loop wallet, and payment links and QR codes.
With the new funding, Craftgate aims to build on further growth and marketing opportunities.
