UK-based fintech startup Fintech Farm, which creates digital banks in emerging markets has raised $7.4 million in seed funding led by Flyer One Ventures. The round saw the participation of Solid TA Ventures, U Ventures Capital, A Ventures Capital and Jiji.
Fintech Farm plans on using the investment to support its plans of launching neobanks in eight countries over the course of the next years.
Fintech Farm was founded in 2021 by Dmytro Dubilet and Nick Bezkrovny with the goal of creating neobanks in emerging markets. Neobanks have become the order of the day for quite a number of reasons including the convenience they provide to customers and how they give people access to a menagerie of features not available on one single platform in the traditional banking system.
Fintech Farm’s first market was Azerbaijan where it used a credit-led neobank approach to provide loans to people who do not necessarily have a track record through a mobile app and cards. Dmytro Dubilet revealed that Fintech Farm’s basic mode of operation is launching an app via partnerships with local banks in any market it plans to enter. It used this method in Azerbaijan and will continue to do so in future markets. Explaining the partnership with local banks, he added that “Usually, it’s 50-50 partnership with a local bank” and that Fintech Farm is responsible for the business side of things which includes the app and credit decision making processes while its partner bank with vast local knowledge, holds the license and capital as both parties co-invest in the business equally.
Fintech Farm has recorded some progress since it first started Azerbaijan as Leobank. Two months into the launch, it revealed that more than 100,000 cards to users and was planning to get the numbers up to a million by the end of 2021.
The focus for the fintech is entering eight emerging markets across Africa and Asia and is starting with Africa’s giant Nigeria.
“We have a plan to launch similar businesses in around eight other markets that are slightly bigger than Azerbaijan of course. Actually, our next market is going to be Nigeria, we have visited Nigeria a couple of times already and it is one of our favourite countries”, Dmytro Dubilet said. The Nigeria launch is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2022.
Nigeria is on Africa’s top list for countries that attract foreign investors. While there are already a number of neobanks available in the country, there is still a huge opportunity for others to thrive. Fintech Farm says it has already gotten the compulsory license to operate in the country and as soon as it gets up to 200,000 customers, it will partner with a bank to push its operations further.
Apart from venturing into emerging markets, Fintech Farm will also use some of the funds to hire talent and push its marketing strategies.
Ibhadojemu Lucky Emmanuel is a graduate of Education and Economics from the University of Benin. He has a passion for tech and business and has been writing professionally for over a period of five years. He's written across various topics and segments and knew tech-business was it when he first stumbled on it. He has a great passion for music and arts, and wants to visit as many countries as he can someday.
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