Fintech Farm, a fintech startup based in the U.K., has raised $7.4 million in a seed funding round. Fintech Farm, which is newly launched, creates neobanks in emerging markets.
The seed round was led by Flyer One Ventures and Solid; TA Ventures, Jiji, u.ventures as well as AVentures Capital were also participants. The startup has plans to use this recent investment to launch neobanks (also known as digital banks) in eight countries in the next two years.
Fintech Farm is cofounded by Dmytro Dubilet, Nick Bezkrovnyy and Alexander Vityaz. The company launched in its first market — Azerbaijan — in November 2021. It provides loans to users with little credit histories through an app and cards. Fintech Farm’s business model, as is in Azerbaijan and potential markets, is to launch its app with partnerships with local traditional banks.
Fintech Farm launches with different names in each country it is available in, yet the design and mascot is the same. So far, in Azerbaijan as Leobank, the company has issued more than 100,000 cards.
In the next two years, Fintech Farm has plans to break into eight emerging markets across Africa and Asia, kick-starting in Nigeria. “Our next market is going to be Nigeria, we have visited Nigeria a couple of times already and it is one of our favourite countries,” said Dubilet; including that the launch may happen in the first quarter of 2022.
Furthermore, Vladimir Mnogoletniy, co-founder of Genesis, the parent company of Jiji, will join Fintech Farm’s board. He expressed that Jiji was seeking a partner to enter the neobanking scene and as such investing in Fintech Farm was strategic.
