Category: banking
Nigerian fintech Okra raises $3.5M backed by Accenture Ventures and Susa Ventures
The last five years have seen a plethora of fintech applications in Nigeria (and Africa, in general) grow at an astonishing rate. But most of these companies and developers find it difficult to access real-time banking data. This, in turn, creates a bottleneck when onboarding and verifying customers. Since 2019,…
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Nigerian fintech Appzone raises $10M for expansion and proprietary technology
Africa’s fintech space has gained proper attention over the past few years in investments but it is not news that startups still battle with offering high-quality products. However, they seem to be doing quite well compared with traditional banks that face challenges like legacy cost structures and a major lack…
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Avant doubles down on digital banking with Zero Financial acquisition
Avant, an online lender that has raised over $600 million in equity, announced today that it has acquired Zero Financial and its neobank brand, Level, to further its mission of becoming a digital bank for the masses. Founded in 2012, Chicago-based Avant started out primarily as an online lender targeting…
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Credit-and-collect fintech start-up Diem raises $5.5M Seed led by Fasanara Capital
Diem, a London, UK-based fintech start-up has raised a seed round of $5.5 million led by Fasanara Capital, and Angel investor Chris Adelsbach, founder of Outrun Ventures. Additional investors include Andrea Molteni (early investor in Farfetch), Ben Demiri (co-chairman at fashion tech PlatformE) and Nicholas Kirkwood (founder of the eponymous…
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America’s small businesses face the brunt of China’s Exchange server hacks
As the U.S. reportedly readies for retaliation against Russia for hacking into some of the government’s most sensitive federal networks, the U.S. is facing another old adversary in cyberspace: China. Microsoft last week revealed a new hacking group it calls Hafnium, which operates in, and is backed by, China. Hafnium…
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SESO Labor is providing a way for migrant farmworkers to get legally protected work status in the US
As the Biden administration works to bring legislation to Congress to address the endemic problem of immigration reform in America, on the other side of the nation a small California startup called SESO Labor has raised $4.5 million to ensure that farms can have access to legal migrant labor. SESO’s…
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