African Fintech Startup JUMO Closes Biggest Round Of 2020 So Far With Fresh USD 55 Mn Raise
South African-born fintech startup, JUMO, has secured USD 55 Mn in its latest funding round.
More than one year after causing quakes with a USD 52 Mn funding round and then following that up with an additional USD 12.5 Mn just three months later, JUMO has announced the closure of another massive funding round.
This time, the startup has bagged a fresh USD 55 Mn which it says is for expansion into new markets and to launch new products in Africa and Asia.
The latest investment shoots JUMO’s total funding up to USD 158 Mn, making it one of the best-funded tech startups on the African continent. JUMO had something of a swashbuckling year in 2018, raising USD 67.5 Mn across three funding rounds.
Per a recent post put up on the official LinkedIn account of the startup, the latest investment comes from new and existing JUMO investors including Goldman Sachs, Odey Asset Management, and LeapFrog Investments.
Founded in 2014 by Andrew Watkins-Ball who currently leads the startup as CEO, JUMO specializes in social impact financial products, offering loans and saving options to those who are neglected by existing financial systems, and particularly small businesses.
JUMO leverages mobile networks to provide loans and savings products to its customers. The digital financial services company has developed a credit-scoring algorithm that helps customers to unlock the value of their digital footprints by giving an accurate estimation of their creditworthiness.
The startup bundles products from various banks and sells it to businesses on the lookout for credit. The entire process of lending is facilitated through mobile networks, where the startup has tied up deals with a number of service providers.
Given high feature phone usage in key markets as well as customer sensitivity to data costs, JUMO offers transactional capability via basic USSD, web or app to allow seamless access and usage of the platform and products.
To date, JUMO claims to have helped millions of consumers across its six markets in Africa and originated more than USD 1 Bn in loans, having started out in Tanzania.
Since September 2018 when the startup first announced expansion into Asia via Pakistan, JUMO has moved its headquarters to Singapore while also growing to no less than 10 million people saving or borrowing from its platform. At the last count, the company had some 350 staff across 10 offices in Africa, Europe, and Asia.
A delighted Watkins-Ball expressed excitement with regards to the startup’s latest funding announcement.
“I’m excited for our next phase. This backing will help us build a better business and break new ground. The strong vote of confidence, along with the world-class tech talent we now have in the business, means we can achieve exceptional outcomes for our partners and customers,” enthuses JUMO’s CEO who has close to two decades in finance and investing under his belt.
As earlier mentioned, JUMO’s latest funding is expected to drive expansion into new markets and facilitate the launching of new products in Africa and Asia.
