Ghana FinTech Fido Raises $30M in Series A Round

Ghanaian FinTech Fido has raised $30 million in a funding round to boost the company’s efforts to develop financial technologies that can be used across Africa, TechCrunch reported.

The company will use some of the newly raised funds to expand beyond its home market into Uganda.

The Series A round was led by Fortissimo Capital and also included Yard Ventures and private investors.

Magnitt reported that Fido is automating the customer experience, from initial onboarding through credit analysis. Fido also offers customers financial guidance, according to Magnett’s article, which described Fido’s B2C app as “fast” and “data-driven.”

Fido has signed up thousands of customers since 2015, extending loans of up to $250 to individuals and small businesses.

“What we are seeing in the market today is a segment of customers, who are mostly small entrepreneurs, that don’t really have access to traditional banking systems … and we see an opportunity to offer these customers, who are outside banking systems, savings products that are fully digital and very easy to use,” Fido Chief Executive Alon Eitan said.

“Customers will be able to deposit from mobile money, cards and even cash, and we receive attractive returns on those savings. Our payments product will be layered on top of existing payment rails, as we want to create interoperability between all the different payment rails that are popping up in different countries today,” he added.

Related reading: Africa’s Digital Future Beyond Mobile Money

A recent PYMNTS analysis found growing interest across Africa in the development of FinTech systems that are built by private entities working with government regulators.

The analysis noted that in Ghana, as with much of Africa, mobile networks are especially important in the payments industry.