Fido, the digital lender based in Ghana and Uganda, has secured $10 million in equity from FMO’s MASSIF Fund as part of its Series B capital raise. MASSIF is FMO’s financial inclusion fund that supports intermediaries that reach out to MSMEs disproportionately affected by a lack of access to financial services.
Bridging Africa’s $331 billion SME Finance Gap.
Founded in 2015 by Nadav Topolski, Tomer Edry, and Nir Zepkowitz, Fido provides individuals and businesses with access to credit without fees, collateral, or guarantors. It enables users to access capital quickly. Fido automates the customer journey from onboarding to credit analysis and provides financial advisory. By leveraging technology, the company utilizes alternative data and artificial intelligence to underwrite more than 650,000 customers, granting them instant access to credit without a formal financial track record based on a credit score calculated by FIDO.
What’s Fido’s track record like?
According to the company’s website, the fintech has so far underwritten 3.0 million loans, valued at $300 million, to 650,000 customers. As of 2022, the company had raised $38 million to expand its mission of empowering individuals and businesses. Its $30 million Series A round was led by Israel-based private equity fund Fortissimo Capital, with participation from Yard Ventures, a VC fund by Harvard alumni.
What will the capital be used for?
Fido will use the funding to grow its loan book in Ghana and Uganda and to further expand into new African countries while maintaining its goal of supporting bottom-of-pyramid clients.
