YouLend closes £4B private deal with JP Morgan. 2 other stories and a trivia

This line-up of stories will help you discover the latest happenings around the tech world, today.

1. YouLend closes £4B private deal with JP Morgan

UK-based startup, YouLend, has announced closing a private capital agreement with JP Morgan.

The deal is expected to pave way for the global embedded financing platform to offer an additional £4 billion in revenue-based financing to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

YouLend’s CFO, Anders Thorpe Christoffersen, confirmed this agreement in a statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Wednesday January 31, 2024.

Leveraging YouLend’s AI-driven decision-making model, the startup noted that the objective was to enhance financial inclusivity by creating a precise business health assessment, via unlocking financing avenues for the most underserved SMEs.

Ripples Nigeria gathered that the partnership with JP Morgan is anticipated to lower YouLend’s cost of capital, aligning with the platform’s commitment to providing competitive rates for its global partners and their merchants.

Anders Thorpe Christoffersen, YouLend’s CFO, while speaking on the development, noted that the deal underscored the company’s steadfast commitment to “fueling the growth and financial stability of SMEs.”

The new deal comes on the heels of a milestone for YouLend, as the company celebrates providing funding in 150,000 instances to SMEs across the UK, EU, and the US since its inception in 2015.

Trivia: A startup disk may also be called what?

A. Top disk
B. Flat disk
C. Boot disk
D. Launch disk
Find answer below

2. PayPal to cut 2500 jobs despite 2023 growth

Despite acclaimed surge in growth throughout 2023, PayPal is on the verge of reducing its workforce by nine percent, affecting approximately 2,500 employees.

The CEO, Alex Chriss, confirmed this in a statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Wednesday January 31st, 2024

The announcement follows a recent job cut of over 2,000 positions the previous year, that was hinged on cost management.

Despite the competitive landscape, PayPal had claimed to have experienced robust growth in 2023, boasting a revenue of $7.42 billion as of September, 2023.

Chriss, who assumed the role of CEO in September 2023, acknowledges that high costs are impeding progress but affirms the company’s commitment to investing in areas poised for growth and acceleration.

The tech industry, extending into 2024, has witnessed layoffs at prominent companies including Google, Discord, eBay, Riot Games, TikTok, Microsoft, iRobot, Amazon, Unity, and Duolingo.

3. Egypt’s Roboost secures $3M investment round

A logistics startup based in Egypt, Roboost, has closed a $3 million investment round led by Silicon Badia, with notable contributions from RZM Investment, Flat6Labs, and Saudi Arabian angel investors.

The CEO and Co-Founder, Mohamed Gessraha, confirmed this in a statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Wednesday January 31st, 2024.

Established in 2018 by Mohamed Gessraha, Hassan Gessraha, and Mohamed Ali Sadek, Roboost claims to specialize in AI-powered delivery solutions, operating in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Morocco, and Tunisia.

This latest financial backing positions Roboost to extend its reach across the Mena region and additionally facilitate the company’s expansion into e-commerce and middle-mile solutions.

Commenting on the development, the CEO stated: “Our goal is to redefine what it means to have automated delivery operations by applying our technology to our customers’ most detailed workflows.”

Trivia Answer: Boot disk

A boot disk, or startup disk, is a storage device from which a computer can “boot” or start up. The default boot disk is typically a computer’s internal hard drive or SSD. This disk contains files required by the boot sequence as well as the operating system, which is loaded at the end of the startup process.

While it is most common to boot a system from the primary internal storage device, most computers allow you to boot from other disks. This include external hard drives, CDs, DVDs, and USB flash drives.

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