Grace Ashiru
In a Series, A round, the Ghanaian fintech startup Fido raised $30 million in equity funding and some unspecified debt funding. This brings the total equity funding the startup has raised to $38 million.
The investment was spearheaded by the private equity fund Fortissimo Capital, based in Israel. Other investors, such as Yard Ventures, a venture capital fund run by Harvard graduates, also participated in the round.
Fido’s primary goal is to connect entrepreneurs in Africa with financial opportunities, which is the big reason why many businesses can’t grow.
The company can automate the entirety of the process of providing financial services to customers, beginning with onboarding and continuing with credit analysis. In addition, the company offers financial guidance. Utilizing machine learning risk models, it can make rapid credit decisions for consumers even if they have no previous record of financial responsibility, all while contributing to a reduction in operational costs.
Real-time machine learning models from Fido, which are in line with the company’s data-driven application that was built on a distributed cloud architecture, significantly increase ease of access to financial services in regions without banking services, make fraud detection seamless and risk scoring seamless, and are based on non-financial data. This allows the company to either approve or reject a loan application while at the same time delivering market-leading default rates.
Small businesses and individuals can receive mobile loans of up to $250 from Fido. They can repay these loans in a single or numerous instalments over up to six months.
Fido was started by Tomer Edry, Nir Zepkowitz, and Nadav Topolski. Later this year, the company plans to add savings and payment products to its lineup and start doing business in Uganda, its second market, as part of its plan to grow into other parts of Africa.
The financial technology company claims it has provided loans totalling over $1.5 million to more than 350,000 customers in Ghana. The company plans to raise this number as it expands into other African markets.
Fido also has plans to establish a second research and development centre in Accra, Ghana. This centre will complement the company’s branch in Israel and assist the company in automating the majority of its operations so that it can maintain its viability in the long run.
