[ad_1]
Kwara, Kenya’s fintech digital credit unions (SACCOs), has more than doubled its customer base, and has seen significant growth in the coming years, raising $3 million in seed funding and signing an exclusive digital solutions distribution deal with Kenya Union. Savings and Credit Cooperatives (Cusco), the national umbrella body representing saccos.
Following the Kushko partnership, Kwara said it has tied up with a pool of over 4,000 bags for its bank-as-a-service offering. As part of the exclusive deal, Quara is set to acquire Kuscco subsidiary IRNET, a software company and service provider of Kuscco, for an undisclosed amount.
Kwara said the Cusco deal comes at the right time as he plans to double down on Kenya.
“We think we have made a big impact on the Kenyan market. And so, we really invest in products and services that strengthen our relationships,” Cynthia Wandia, founder and CEO of Quora, told TechCrunch.
“The reason[for the deal]is clear, first is the opportunity to generate leads and quickly distribute our core product and increase our competitiveness. We are entering into a unique partnership, which means no other technology company can market with Kuscco. 2019 from David said Wandia, who co-founded the fintech with Juan (COO).
The seed extension round had participation from existing investors DOB Equity, Globivest and Willard Ahdritz, founder of Cobalt Music. New backers One Day Yes, Base Capital and fintech executives Miko Salovaara, CFO of Revolut, also joined the round. The new funding brings the amount of seed raised by the startup to $7 million. The first round saw the participation of several investors including Brega, SoftBank Vision Fund Emerge, Finca Ventures, New General Market Partners.
Based in South Africa and the Philippines, Kwara has grown its customer base to 120 from 50 by the end of 2021, with 100% customer retention – a testament to the value it provides to its customers. The automated onboarding process, the startup says, has ensured customer success and growth.
Quora’s product streamlines credit unions’ back office operations by eliminating tedious paper-based processes and physical branches, opening up new ways to enroll new members and create new products.
The company has a next-generation Neobank app that allows members of partner credit unions to access additional services such as instant loans and third-party insurance. The Neobank app, which allows users to deposit money directly into their sacco account and track their funds and payments, has grown 35-fold since last year.
Fintech plans to add more features to Sacco and more products for Neobank app users.
“For the big bags that are well capitalized, we will continue to deliver more or less enterprise-level features that are at the same size and level as some banks. There are specific features that they need and specific ways that they need special care, so we will continue to invest in that,” Wandia added, citing Kwara’s neo-banking experience. He said that he is investing to improve. Members are set to add more features to help them “build a personal perspective on their own goals and really start working towards them.” They sign additional third-party partnerships to add more value to app users.
“We believe that every time a SACCO member abandons their SACCO, simply because SACCO does not provide another service, it is a missed opportunity for that member to profit from the returned product. All revenue generated on those products goes back to the members as profits,” she added.
Credit unions are formed by people with a common interest or members of an industry, such as farmers or teachers, who buy shares in the institution, save money, and take out loans. They are particularly popular in developing countries for their low-interest loans and ease of access to loans compared to conventional banks. Only 175 deposit-taking bags are licensed in Kenya, as most are unregulated.
[ad_2]
Source link
