FinTech JUMO Raises $120M to Support Emerging Market Entrepreneurs

FinTech JUMO raised $120 million to help the startup further support emerging market entrepreneurs with next-generation financial services. Funding was led by Fidelity Management & Research Company with participation from Visa and Kingsway Capital.

JUMO will use the new infusion of capital to build out the capacity and scope of its platform and offer new financial products and services to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as provide long-term loan products to merchants and larger companies, according to reports.

The funds will also go toward helping JUMO grow its international footprint in new markets, including Nigeria and Cameroon. The new market rollout is intended to help JUMO boost its lending volume to $40 billion in 2022.

Andrew Watkins-Ball, JUMO Founder and CEO, said the company strives to help “capital providers to reach customers with great products.”

With the new capital, JUMO has raised close to $200 million in total, with backers that have included Leapfrog, Goldman Sachs, Finnfund, Proparco, Vostok Emerging Finance and Brook Asset Management.

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Launched in 2015 by Watkins-Ball, the company has headquarters in London and Cape Town, South Africa and taps artificial intelligence (AI) to power its banking as a Service (BaaS) platform to offer financial services in emerging markets. JUMO offers savings and credit products in addition to the infrastructure for other financial services and partners such as eMoney operators, mobile FinTech platforms and banks.

“JUMO’s lending platform is highly attractive in its ability to scale across markets and drive financial inclusion by creating access to credit for consumers and small businesses,” said Melissa McSherry, Global Head of Risk and Identity Services at Visa.

McSherry added that Visa is planning to boost its adoption of “JUMO’s platform across markets,” which aligns with Visa’s aim of helping “individuals, businesses, and economies to thrive.”

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