Sudanese Fintech Bloom Secures USD 6.5 Mn Seed Round

Bloom, a Sudan-based fintech that offers a high-yield savings account and adjacent digital banking services, has raised a USD 6.5 Mn seed round. This investment comes after the startup’s undisclosed pre-seed round last year. Investors in the round included Visa, Y Combinator, U.S.-based VCs Global Founders Capital (GFC) and Goodwater Capital, and VentureSouq. Other investors include angels Arash Ferdowsi, Dropbox co-founder; Nicolas Kopp, former U.S. CEO of N26; footballers Blaise Matuidi and Kieran Gibbs, and early employees at Revolut and Tide. 

Bloom offers fee-free accounts for users to save in dollars and buy and spend in Sudanese pounds. It also provides local and dollar cards and a feature where they can receive remittance free of charge from several countries globally, mainly where most of the Sudanese diaspora reside. The investment will help the startup execute its expansion plan across the Anglo-East African region such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zambia.