South African fintech platform Jumo has concluded a $64.5 million funding round thanks to an additional $12.5 million from a London-based investor.
The $12.5 million in funding comes from the U.K. investment firm Odey Asset Management, formally ending a funding round that began earlier in the year, according to ITWebAfrica.
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In September Jumo raised a $52 million funding round led by U.S.-based investment bank Goldman Sachs, according to the company.
Goldman Sachs is a new investor for Jumo, and with the addition of the $12.5 million from Odey Asset Management, the total of $64.5 million will be dedicated towards accelerating expansion into additional Asian and African markets.
Others who participated in the funding round include Proparco, the private sector financing arm of the French Development Agency (AFD), Finnish development finance company Finnfund, Vostok Emerging Finance, London-based Gemcorp Capital, and LeapFrog Investments.
Along with Goldman Sachs, the funding round is a maiden investment into the South African fintech firm for Proparco and Finnfund, bringing Jumo’s total funding to date to $103 million, according to Finextra.
Jumo, the financial services platform for emerging markets, analyzes user data collected from mobile phones and networks to predict whether a person is able to repay a loan, offering tailored financial products based on that analysis.
Since launching in 2014, more than 10 million people have used the Jumo platform, with around 70 percent of them being micro and small business owners, according to BankingTech.
To date, Jumo has originated over $1 billion in loans on its platform and manages over 45 million customer interactions per month.
In November last year the South African company secured a $24 million loan facility provided by Gemcorp Capital along with Finnfund, which contributed $6 million of the $24 million, according to ITWebAfrica.
This latest investment will see the South African fintech platform grow to include more markets across Asia and Africa as part of the company’s global strategic initiatives and expansion plans.
Jumo’s technology is currently used by many global telecommuncations and banking giants, including Africa’s largest mobile operator MTN, Airtel, South African bank FNB, and Telenor bank in Pakistan, according to BusinessInsider.
With offices in 10 countries, including a presence in South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, Singapore, and the U.K., Jumo was the first South African startup to be selected by Google for its Launchpad accelerator, reports ITNewsAfrica.
As a result a number of leaders within the company benefited from a two-week boot camp at Google’s headquarters in California between July 17 and 28 last year, with six months ongoing support and mentorship, as well as $50,000 in funding allocated to the startup.
In 2017 Jumo was the winner of the changing Africa award at the Appsafrica.com Innovation Awards 2017.
The awards celebrate the best in mobile and tech ventures from across Africa, with mobile apps that impact numerous industries and sectors awarded for their efforts.
