Taxonomy

Ameya Upadhyay

A tale of two challenger bank models

[TechCrunch] The Tale of 2 Challenger Bank Models

Accelerated by the pandemic and its economic fallout, the tale of retail challenger bank models across the world has been diverging. In the Americas, Albo, Chime, and Uoala have all reported record user numbers as consumers adapted to a “no-touch” economy. Aspiration and Varo announced successful equity fund raising rounds. In Europe, by...

[Flourish Conversations] Early Stage Funding in Africa A Pulse Check

Entrepreneurs everywhere are dealing with much uncertainty right now, especially in Africa, where capital markets are shallow and collapsing commodity prices pose a double hit to economies dealing with COVID-19. In our discussions with entrepreneurs across the continent, we find that they are understandably anxious about how their companies will...

Speed Matters in Small Business Support: 3 Lessons from a Successful Swiss 30-Minute Crisis Loan

A number of governments and central banks around the globe have launched facilities to provide concessionary loans and guarantees to small businesses, a critical backbone…

Portfolio

The Ecosystem

December 09, 2019

Why We Invested in the Financial Service Innovators Association (FSI): Accelerating Fintech Innovation in Nigeria

By Ameya Upadhyay and David Madden Fintech is booming in Africa right now. In 2018, a third of all venture capital invested in Africa went…

September 20, 2019

Why We Invested in FairMoney: Rebooting Banking in Nigeria

If you ask someone in Lagos if they have a bank account, more likely than not, the answer will be “yes.” You’ll probably get the…

Portfolio

Digital Banking

Portfolio

Insurtech

Portfolio

Digital Banking

Portfolio

Infrastructure

Portfolio

Digital Banking

Why We Invested in Lidya: Supporting the Growth of MSMEs across Africa

Globally, micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) contribute to an estimated 50 percent of total employment.