online lending
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Fintech Klarna reportedly raising at a $6.5B valuation, giving new meaning to the phrase ‘down round’
In a sign of the times, Swedish buy now, pay later giant Klarna is reportedly close to inking a new round of funding that would slash its valuation to $6.5…
Google has invested in Progcap, an Indian startup that provides working capital to small and medium-sized businesses, the firms said Tuesday, making a new push into a category that has…
Amid real estate tech industry layoffs, HomeLight raises $60M and acquires lending startup Accept.inc
Just days after publicly traded real estate tech companies Redfin and Compass laid off a combined 900-plus employees, another proptech — HomeLight — is announcing that it has secured $60…
Middesk, a platform designed to automate business verification and underwriting decisions, today announced that it raised $57 million in a Series B round co-led by Insight Partners and Canapi Ventures…
One of Better.com’s former executives has filed a lawsuit against the online mortgage lender, alleging that the company and its CEO Vishal Garg misled investors when it attempted to go…
For years, Africa’s credit infrastructure has lagged behind the rest of the world due to low credit coverage from its bureaus. Per a World Bank report, only 11% of Africa’s…
As the saying goes, “Everyone is selling something.” Sometimes, we forget that when it comes to fundraising. The trick is to sell something investors really…
BNPL in 2022: 4 fintech investors discuss regulation, trends and how to stand out
To get a better picture of where the BNPL market is at right now, we spoke with four active investors about their expectations for the space, upcoming regulation, scalability, default…
An S-4 filing from Aurora Acquisition Corp., the SPAC that digital mortgage provider Better.com intended to merge with, provides stark details about the latter company’s financial performance. The filing —…
TechCrunch sat down with Libor Michalek, president of technology at Affirm, to understand just how the company differentiates itself from its plethora of competitors.
There’s no shortage of digital banks in Nigeria and, in general, in Africa. As the region continues to experience rapid growth in mobile usage and the corresponding growing young population,…
Fintech Roundup: Goldman Sachs buys another startup, Fast hits a speed bump and BaaS gets hotter
Welcome to my weekly fintech-focused column. I’ll be publishing this every Sunday, so in between posts, be sure to listen to the Equity podcast and hear Alex Wilhelm, Natasha Mascarenhas…
Most people have a negative association with debt collection. A startup called January is out to change that with a fresh $10 million fundraise. Founder Jake Cahan says most debt…
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Cross River Bank goes from tiny to mighty, with a $3B+ valuation and a crypto-first strategy
Financial technology startups raised $121.6 billion last year — up 153% year-over-year in terms of global VC deal value — and include a range of outfits, from payments companies to digital banks to corporate spend players. It’s not as typical for us to hear, though, about venture capitalists pouring millions…
Churpy, a fintech startup based in Kenya, is looking to expand across Africa by setting up hubs in Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa for a planned continent-wide growth, driven by…
The company develops secured loans for motorcycles, cars and trucks so borrowers can improve their income.
The adoption of buy now, pay later (BNPL) in Nigeria as a payment option both online and at the point of sale is expected to record a CAGR of 20%…
Digital credit providers (DCPs) in Kenya will have to disclose their sources of funds and provide evidence of the same after a law meant to regulate the sector came into…
Validus, a Singapore-based lending platform for small and medium-sized enterprises, is acquiring CitiBusiness’ loan portfolio for an undisclosed amount to bolster its top-line revenue and customer base and expand its…
Kenya-based fintech company 4G Capital, which provides unsecured credit to micro enterprises, has raised $18.5 million in Series C funding from global private equity firm Lightrock. The equity funding comes…
Stilt secures $114M in debt & equity to help fintechs and neobanks launch credit offerings with its API
Stilt, which started its life as a provider of financial services for immigrants, has raised $14 million in Series A funding led by Link Ventures as it expands its focus…
B2B e-commerce platform Chari is acquiring the credit line of Axa Assurance in Morocco for $22M
Moroccan B2B e-commerce and retail startup Chari has acquired Axa Credit, the credit branch of Axa Assurance Maroc, for $22 million, the company confirmed to TechCrunch today. The news comes…
Peruvian startup Leasy secures $17M in debt, equity to provide auto loans to LatAm ride-hailing drivers
Leasy, a startup that offers automobile financing to ride-hailing drivers in Latin America via a subscription model, has secured $2 million in equity and $15 million in debt. Italian-born Gregorio…
NayaPay secures $13 million, largest seed funding in South Asia for its messaging and payment app
Pakistan-based fintech platform NayaPay has raised $13 million in a seed round to roll out its multi-service messaging and payment app, and to build payment acceptance and financial management tools…
Contact Financial Holding, Egypt’s non-bank consumer finance provider, has invested $9 million in the country’s e-commerce super-app Wasla, setting the stage for the rollout of new online shopping capabilities, products…
Fintech Roundup: Proptech’s roller coaster, an ex-Better.com exec’s new gig and Alchemy’s true valuation jump
Welcome to my new weekly fintech focused column. I’ll be publishing this every Sunday, so in between posts, be sure to listen to the Equity podcast and hear Alex Wilhelm,…
Vesta closes on $30M in an a16z-led Series A to build a new kind of mortgage infrastructure
If you’ve ever taken out a mortgage, you know how painful and tedious the process can be. In an effort to make it simpler, faster and cheaper, a pair of…
Polly, a SaaS technology startup aiming to “transform” the mortgage capital markets, announced today that it has raised $37 million in a Series B funding round led by Menlo Ventures.…
Ugandan fintech Asaak raises $30million to support acquisition of motorbikes, smartphones by taxi operators
Asaak, a Ugandan asset financing startup, has secured $30 million in pre-Series A equity and debt funding. The round saw the participation of new and existing investors including Resolute Ventures,…
