Daily Fintech Crunch: 25/04/2022 (Special Edition)

Dear All

Happy Monday to you all and welcome to a Special Edition of the Daily Fintech Crunch. Today I am bringing you some of the most recent investment-centric news from across the region and beyond. 

⚡ Fintech Investment Rounds:

Regional Investment Bites:

• The National Investment Fund (Sandooq Al Watan) invests $68,000 in the UAE-based financial analysis app Lune.

• Following a four-year consecutive growth in VC funding, the Egyptian ecosystem observed a 168% YoY increase in capital investment to reach a new all-time high record of $491 million.

• Khazna, an Egyptian fintech app, has received $38 million in stock and debt. The equity investment round was headed by Quona Capital.

• According to Magnitt's 2021 Egypt Venture Investment Report, capital investment in the Egyptian ecosystem increased by 168% year over year to a new all-time high of $491 million.

• Dubai International Financial Center is laying the ground for a new era for tech startups in the region with the launch of a new venture studio aimed at investing in 200 ventures in the next 5 years.

• Alaan, a UAE-based corporate spend-management fintech, announced it raised $2.5 million in seed funding. The startup is the Middle East's first multi-currency spend management platform enabling SMEs to spend through corporate cards and automated invoice payments.

• UAE-based fintech Pluto, a corporate spend management startup, raised $6 million in its seed round.

• Tabby, a Dubai-based BNPL platform, has raised $54 million in a Series B round. The company intends to use this money to grow its consumer product line and expand internationally.

Global Investment Bites

• ImaliPay, a one-stop-shop financial services platform, has closed a $3 million seed in debt and equity round.

• PayU, the fintech business controlled by Prosus with operations in 50+ countries has acquired Ding, a mobile payments platform. Prosus has led a $46 million investment into Treinta, a financial superapp aimed at small businesses.

• African digital bank Umba closed a $15 million Series A fundraising round that will help the platform continue its growth in existing African markets and allow it to expand into new ones, with an eye on meeting the needs of underserved customers.

• Union54, a card-issuing startup based in Zambia, has raised $12 million in a seed extension round to further its goal of offering an alternative to major card companies.

• Immigrant credit fintech Pillar raises $16.9 million pre-seed led by Global Founders Capital and Backed VC.

• Sydney-based fintech Reach Alternative Investments has raised $2.2 million in an oversubscribed seed round.

• BNP Paribas has made its first investment in the global investment platform, Anthemis, as it looks to strengthen its focus on fintechs.

• Goldman Sachs announced this week it was buying NextCapital — a fintech company that provides automated advice to corporate retirement plan participants.

• Kinara Capital, India’s fast-growing MSME fintech, has closed a fresh equity round of $50 million led by global investment manager Nuveen.

• Voyager Innovations, a Philippine provider of digital financial services tools such as Fintq, PayMaya, and Smart Padala, recently secured an investment package totaling $210 million.

• Step, the digital banking service aimed at teens and endorsed by TikTok star Charli D’Amelio, announced this morning the close of a $100 million round of Series C funding after growing to more than 1.5 million users in just six months after launch.

• As housing prices rise, new lending fintech OnLadder has scored £275,000 in angel investment led by Monzo co-founder.

• London-based digital SME financing platform Stenn has landed a $50 million equity investment from Centerbridge Partners.

• Google's AI-focus venture fund has led an €8 million seed round for Payaut, an automated payment provider for online platforms and marketplaces.

• B2B fintech platform EximPe has raised $3.5 million in its seed round, led by early-stage venture capital firm Leo Capital.

• Insurtech companies in India raised $1.33 billion in 2021 and $304.8 million a year earlier, becoming one of the three biggest insurtech fundraisers in Asia.

• Fasset, a globally-regulated digital asset gateway, has closed a $22 million Series A funding round, led by Liberty City Ventures and Fatima Gobi Ventures.

• USDC issuer Circle Internet Financial has raised $400 million in funding and formed a strategic partnership with BlackRock to explore capital market applications for the stablecoin.

• Pakistani financial platform Abhi raised funds at a $90 million valuation within a year after introducing its business, the latest startup to benefit from investors’ increasing interest in the South Asian country.

• The total investment in UK fintech companies in 2021 hit an all-time high of $37.7 billion. Globally, the number exceeded $200 billion

⚡ Graph of the Day:

• As the pie charts suggest, last year, the fintech market surpassed all other digital sectors in terms of VC financing — and it's off to a flying start in 2022.

⚡ Report of the Day:

• The MENA payments landscape is changing rapidly with the use of digital technology. Further to this, recent developments in regulatory initiatives towards the digital economy and cashless society have given rise to an increase in the number of Fintechs in the region that are now replicating successful global models (in a localized manner). Going forward, these “shifts” show us interesting and continuing developments in the Payments landscape of MENA. Read the full report here.