Fairmoney Secures $11m to Further Operations

• Fairmoney Secures $11m to Further Operations

FairMoney, a financial technology company operating in Nigeria, just raised €10 million ($11 million) to expand operations in Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt and Kenya.

Flourish, DST Global partners, and existing investors Newfund, Speedinvest and Le Studio VC led the Series A round (€10 million).

The Paris-based startup uses alternative smartphone data to offer microcredit within minutes and now plans to expand to current and savings accounts.

On average, Fairmoney customers borrow between $33 and $415 with interests depending on repayment plans and other factors.

According to Laurin Hainy, the CEO, Fairmoney, part of the €10 million would be used to expand operations to Ghana, Egypt and Kenya.

Hainy said the company handles more than 400 payments daily through various features like a digital wallet and in-app payment function.

“Our vision is to build a holistic financial platform for underserved customers in emerging markets. We want to do that by offering an easy-to-use product to our customers and become a financial one-stop-shop for them.

“We started with credit for small business owners and individuals, and we are expanding our services rapidly. Think digital bank for emerging market consumers,” he said.

The startup has a lending licence in Nigeria but would partner microfinance banks to expand operations through the provision of savings and current accounts.