Building The Future Of Fintech
In the midst of a global FinTech revolution, we find our strategy to invest in category-leading companies building the future of finance in under-penetrated markets timely.
We are delighted to announce the launch of our website and newsletter. We also look forward to sharing FinTech industry insights, updates from our portfolio companies, and our work within the ecosystem — led by our Founding Partner & CEO, Barbara Iyayi.
NEW PORTFOLIO UPDATE
We’re pleased to announce that we have invested in Verto’s $10m Series A funding alongside other leading Fintech investors. Verto is a global B2B payments platform that powers cross‑border payments for the world’s fastest‑growing startups and enterprises. They enable businesses to send and receive instant payments globally through a single API or via their web platform. Read more here
PORTFOLIO HIGHLIGHTS
News | Verto partners with Clearbank
Verto announced a partnership with Clearbank, the cloud-based clearing bank which launched a new multi-currency solution aiming to reduce friction for fintechs and financial institutions who offer cross-border payments and FX capabilities.
“Over the past year, we have successfully offered our customers Sterling accounts through our partnership with ClearBank and are glad to once again partner with them to launch full-fledged multi-currency accounts to help power the global ambitions of our customers,” says Ola Oyetayo, Co-Founder and CEO, Verto. Read more here
Blog | eNaira: What is it and how will it affect Nigeria?
Nigeria became the first country in Africa to introduce a digital currency, the eNaira. Our portfolio company, Verto, recently published a blog on the eNaira. Co-Founder & CTO, Anthony Oduwole later joined The Fintech Times for a webinar on CBDCs and said
“Having a digital currency to replace a fiat one is not doing anything. It’s just one-to-one mapping, whereas if you can allow people to easily transact with neighboring countries, where there might be liquidity in the currency accessibility, you almost automatically reduce the troubles of settlement delays.”
Learn more about CBDCs and how they are reshaping finance here: Read more here
INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS
News | Record-breaking funding growth in Fintech companies
2021 saw the highest increase in global funding of Fintech companies according to the State of Fintech report released by CB Insights. The US leads in funding followed by Asia & Europe. Africa has recently begun to attract foreign investment with a few billion-dollar-plus startups achieving the unicorn status in the last couple of years. Global Investment trends show that Africa is the next frontier for fintech investment following recent deals by leading VCs in African Fintech companies.
News | African startups join global funding boom as Fintech shines
Early data indicates that Africa is set to trounce historical record of $4 billion in venture capital funding raised in 2021. Nigeria taking $1.37 billion and the lion share of this funding. Since July 2021, a $1m+ deal is announced on average every day by an African start-up according to data collected by TechCrunch. Read more here
News | Open banking startups driving the next wave of Fintech innovation
A growing ecosystem of fintechs in Africa is driving the interest in open banking platforms. Disrupt Africa reports that six open banking startups have attracted 1.8 per cent of total fintech funding in Africa since 2015. Read more here
Blog | Africa is the most fertile ground for crypto and blockchain applications
Africa is one of the fastest growing markets for cryptocurrency adoption globally. This presents some very exciting use cases and applications of crypto and blockchain technology as shared by leading founders of blockchain companies with Afridigest. Read more here
UNICORN TEAM HIGHLIGHTS
Techstars Fintech Roundtable: Finteching the Unbanked
UGC Founding Partner & CEO, Barbara Iyayi, was part of this year’s Techstars Fintech Roundtable where she advised global FinTech startups to “disrupt themselves” by building open infrastructure leveraging emerging technologies (Blockchain/AI) to scale and harness data.
How Early-Stage Managers are Changing Venture
Our CEO, Barbara Iyayi, recently participated in an online panel organized by Eva Yazhari, founder of The Conscious Investor and General Partner of Beyond Capital Ventures. She discussed how emerging fund managers like Unicorn Growth are driving the future of venture capital and inclusive ecosystems. Watch the panel here
Unicorn Growth Capital joins Early Stage Capital Provider (ESCP) network
ESCP network is an initiative by Collaborative Frontier Finance for fund managers in emerging markets in partnership with organizations such as the IFC & Omidyar Network.
