ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Ayoconnect and Tugende

At FinTech Futures, we know that it can be easy to let funding announcements slip you by in this fast-paced industry. That’s why we put together our weekly In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) funding round-up for you to get the latest funding news.

Alex Jatra, Jakob Rost, and Chiragh Kirpalani of Ayoconnect

Southeast Asia’s largest open finance platform Ayoconnect has raised $13 million in a Series B extension led by SIG Venture Capital.

CE Innovation Capital and existing investor fintech PayU, the payments and fintech business of Prosus, also took part in the round.

The fresh funding will be used towards building the company’s leadership team and invest in product and technology development. Ayoconnect also plans on introducing new solutions around payments, data and banking, with new APIs for account opening and card issuing.

Ayoconnect raised its Series B funding in January this year, which was led by Tiger Global.

Founded in 2016, Ayoconnect aims to drive financial inclusion in Indonesia, enabling business customers to launch new financial services “faster and cheaper” with its core infrastructure that is secure and regulated.

Ugandan fintech platform Tugende, which enables MSME credit and asset-financing in East Africa, has raised $10 million in pre-Series B funding.

The round was led by Partech and two new investors, including Women’s World Banking. Verdant Capital served as Tugende’s financial advisor and arranger with respect to its equity and debt capital raises.

The funding strengthens Tugende’s balance sheet and will enable it to increase portfolio growth and address a “significant” credit demand amongst MSMEs.

Founded in 2012, Tugende is a digital lender specialising in asset finance and credit scoring. It claims to have supported more than 55,000 clients in Uganda and Kenya to own income generating assets and build credit profiles, helping them “unlock additional opportunities as they grow their business”.

It employs more than 900 people and aims to continue expanding its footprint in Uganda and Kenya.