LATEST TECH NEWS: Cowrywise closes $3m pre-series A funding. 2 other things and a trivia you need to know today, January 29, 2021

These latest stories from the tech space will keep you updated with trends today.

1. Cowrywise closes $3m pre-series A funding

In a new investment led by Washington DC VC Quona Capital, Nigerian wealth management startup, Cowrywise, has closed $3 million pre-series A funding, a development that makes Cowrywise the first Nigerian startup in Quona Capital’s Africa portfolio.

Though, led by Quona Capital, the investment saw the participation of Sahil Lavingia, Tsadik Foundation, and a syndicate of qlocal and diaspora based Nigerian angels.

According to Cowrywise, the funds will be used to expand its product offerings to more asset classes, support the onboarding of more fund managers in Nigeria and across the globe, vis-a vis deepening its investment management infrastructures.Cowrywise CEO, Razaq Ahmed, stated that the funding will take the company closer to its vision of building a full fledged wealth management solution.

He said: “Our vision is to build a full-fledged wealth management solution, covering financial planning, savings and investments. This funding takes us a step closer to that.”

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Tech Trivia:

Which of the following ecommerce solutions was built by Nigerians?

A. Ebay
B. Amazon
C. Listbuy
D. Alibaba

Answer: See end of post.

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2. Lagos headquartered CARMA looks to expand presence across Africa

Data lending platform, CARMA, has unveiled plans to expand its operations across Africa.

This comes on the heels of the company’s recent relocation of its headquarters to Lagos, Nigeria’s seat of commerce.

The company provides lending companies with access to real-time credit data on a peer-to-peer basis through a pay-as-you-go service.

Ted Martynov, the startup’s co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO), while explaining the modules of their operations, described the company as a corporate data marketplace.

He said: “As marketplaces sell goods and services, at CARMA we do the same with corporate data.

“We provide lending organisations with credit assessment – including unbanked individuals – and we also allow other industries to contribute to sharing their data on our marketplace. It includes KYC, purchasing, credit information…

“We went to market in July 2020, and it took more than 6 months before that to deliver the initial technology. We kicked off by signing a deal in Zambia with the NASCU, the local association of credit unions, and decided to place the headquarters in Nigeria as it is one of the biggest markets for us.”

3. Brazilian startup Nubank secures $400M Series G at $25B valuation

Brazilian fintech player, Nubank, has announced securing a $400 million Series G round, pushing its total funding up to $1.2 billion.

Read also: LATEST TECH NEWS: Six African startups secure grants from Catalyst Fund. 1 other thing and a trivia you need to know today, January 28, 2021

The new raiser takes the company valuation to $25 billion, a $15 billion increase from $10 billion in 2019.

According to press, Nubank’s customer base today stands at 34 million users, what analysts have described as impressive for a eight year old startup.

Commenting on the progress of the company, David Velez, co-founder and CEO, revealed that between 2019 and 2021, the company acquired over 20 million customers.

He said: “We’ve gone from 12 million customers in 2019 to 34 million solely based on word of mouth.”

At $25B valuation, Nubank becomes the fourth most valuable financial institution in Latin America and the largest digital bank in the world by the number of customers and app downloads.

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Tech Trivia Answer: Listbuy

Listbuy is a social commerce platform, built by Nigerian techprenuers, that enables small businesses and individuals create and share their online stores, accept payment and allow users ship products to their customers seamlessly, and on the go.

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