Kenya’s fintech Kwara lands $4 Million in seed round from Breega, SoftBank to build neobank for credit unions –
Summary
The startup has raised $4 million in a seed round to build a neobank app that will enable individuals to sign up with their preferred credit unions to access various financial services. “We want to make credit unions as efficient as they can be by giving their members the kind of neobank experiences they wish to have,” Kwara co-founder and CEO, Cynthia Wandia told TechCrunch. This is expected to open up new borderless avenues for the lending institutions to sign up new members and help credit unions shift away from tedious paper-based systems and the need for elaborate brick-and-mortar branches. The seed round was led by Breega VC firm, with participation of SoftBank Vision Fund Emerge, Finca Ventures, New General Market Partners, Globivest and Do Good Invest. Credit unions are usually formed by people with a common interest or members of an industry, like farmers or teachers, who buy shares in the institution, save money and take loans.