Umba amasses $17.5m for multi-currency, multi-country operations
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Umba, a digital bank, now has a total $17.5 million to expand financial products to the unbanked and the underserved populations across Africa having just raised $15 million in Series A funding in addition to a $2 million seed round in 2020.
Venture capitalist firm Costanoa Ventures led this round.
Other participants are Nubank, Tom Blomfield (Monzo co-founder); and previous backers Lachy Groom and ACT Ventures, Lux Capital, Palm Drive Capital, Banana Capital, and Streamlined Ventures.
Umba, which is based in Lagos, said the new funding will enable it test out interoperable digital banking experience across Africa as it prepares to launch in new markets, including Egypt, Ghana, and Kenya, where mobile money is prominent.
Chief Executive Officer Tiernan Kennedy explained that Umba is utilising a customer-first approach, rather than buying off-the-shelf banking systems and customising them for customers.
“For us, we designed core banking systems from the ground up and can deliver a customised experience for the customer at the drop of a hat in both banking and mobile money markets,” he said.
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Multi-currency and multi-country transactions
“We can take in all that open banking data and underwrite at scale with these different fragmented payment types and data types.
“What that means for us, in practice, is that we’re multi-currency, we can go multi-country, we can do all different payment types. And that takes time.
“But then you get your ability to move extremely fast against competitors,” Kennedy told TechCrunch,per reporting by Nairametrics.
He added that the startup will also expand products rolling out debit cards, savings accounts, and stock trading in the next 18 months.
“Right now, we’ve solved for credits and spending; what’s next is savings and investments, creating new markets opening up, that means hiring up staff in our three new markets.”
