Yet another African startup is raking up millions from investors around the world during its round of financing and this time around the major investor is America’s most prestigious investment bank- Goldman and Sachs. The bank is just one of the investors willing to put its assets into the South African fintech startup Jumo that just recently closed its 55$ million round.

Jumo has been around since 2015 and is based in Cape Town. Having the years worth of experience with the funding rounds, the startup did not shy away from making bold decisions and putting the number at $55 million. This is a startup that offers the most sought-after tech services to different companies. Jumo covers savings, lending, and insurance products for the customers from the emerging markets that often don thave access to these services in a more traditional form. 

There are more and more companies willing to offer innovative financial services to other companies. The financial industry has benefitted greatly from companies offering shares trading, frictionless loans and much more to those who would normally be shut off from these kinds of tools.

This is the most coveted industry and selection of service in South Africa, where the fintech has become the most profitable business and have attracted millions of investors from around the world to become a part of the tech revolution currently changing the lives of everyday people across the continent. 

Goldman’s commitment to fintechs

Goldman and Sachs has long declared its commitment too embracing this fintech revolution and giving the local startups a chance to grow and tap into new markets by continuously investing in them during the funding rounds and Jumo has been on the investment banks’ radar since 2018 when it led  $52 million funding that helped Jumo enter the unexplored market of Asia. In total since its creation, the company has raised a total of $146 million in the capital and is one of the most successful startups to ever come from SA, which says a lot, considering there is no lack of innovative startups across the country and the continent as well.  

While having the backing of the most prestigious investment bank is already more than most fintechs could ask for, there are some more famous names in the investors interested in seeing Jumo’s success. Some of the names disclosed by the startup itself were Odey Asset Management and LeapFrog Investments. Since its technology has proven to be a success, Jumo is now focused on expanding its reach and providing these services for as many markets as possible. Mostly the company will be focusing on Asia and Africa and it plans to so with the resources acquired from the most recent funding. 

Since it first started to operate nearly five years ago, it has given out around $1 billion in loans and served over 15 million people along with some small businesses. 

Jumo currently operates in six different markets and in its most near-future plans it wants to expand to Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and Bangladesh and India.

The countries in Africa definitely have a lot of choices when it comes to fintech service providers, but considering that companies such a Goldman and Sachs are behind Jumo it does make the competition a lot easier for them.

Africa maintains its status as a fintech leader

Africa has been declared the fintech capital a number of times and it is no surprise considering the sheer amount of investment that flows into its fintech industry every year. Africa has really profited from the tech revolution even if it’s not the most tech-savvy in many other aspects of its day-to-day life. South Africa is among the leaders on the continent, among with Kenya and Nigeria and is actively changing the lives of many with these innovative and simple technologies that allow people, mostly the unbanked population of Africa, to get the hold of the services that they have been denied most of their lives. 

The industry has also created numerous opportunities for young local talent to grow and develop their careers within their own counties and actually have substantial income and opportunities there. This field holds great potential for the entire continent and has even become one of the things that Africa is actually an example to follow for the rest of the world. 

Fintech industry started to take off in countries like the U.S and all across Europe just 2-3 years ago but Africa discovered the power and the possibilities of digital payments a long time ago and is now showing the rest of the world not only how to do it but just how transformative it can be for smaller economies. It has created a way for young people to get employed and work in respectable companies while providing the populations with easy to use, comfortable and useful services that make their lives much easier.