Fintech startup, Fido, has secured an additional $20 million to bring its total Series B funding total to $30 million. Innovation Village reported some days ago that Fido got $10 million, courtesy of MASSIF, a fund dedicated to financial inclusion and managed by FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank.
This new infusion of capital is from Blue Orchard finance ($10million) and $10M in debt funding from Stanbic Bank Ghana and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).
According to the company on a LinkedIn post, this funding would enable the company further its mission of making financial services accessible to the unbanked by expanding its reach into new markets and enhancing its product offerings.
“With this investment, we’re ready to bring our innovative financial solutions, including small business loans, savings, and personalized insurance, to even more individuals and small businesses across Africa. Backed by our advanced AI-driven Fido Score, we’ll continue to deliver secure, reliable financial services to those traditionally underserved by the banking system.”
Originally launched in 2015 by Israeli entrepreneurs Nadav Topolski, Tomer Edry, and Nir Zepkowitz to provide loans via mobile phones, Fido has since expanded its offerings to include savings, bill payments, and smartphone financing, diversifying its revenue streams.
Fido reports that it has served one million customers to date, with 40% being small businesses. The company has extended over $500 million in loans across Ghana, where it claims nationwide coverage, and Uganda, where it has reached 50,000 customers since launching in December of last year.
According to the CEO, Alon Eitan in an interview with Techcrunch, “Fido had underwritten 1.5 million loans, valued at $150 million, to 340,000 customers in Ghana. It was only just preparing to enter Uganda at that time.”
“Our hope is that by some time early next year, we will have crossed a billion in total disbursement and the idea is to use the new funds to then grow further and reach more customers…and have genuine impact on them,” he said, adding that the business has been profitable the last four years.
