Leading Fintech VC Firm QED Investors Makes First Investment in Africa with a Financing Round in TeamApt

TeamApt has just completed a financing round and brought on board one of the world’s largest fintech specialists, QED Investors. With almost $5 billion in assets under management, QED is a premier VC in the fintech space. They have invested in 27 unicorns over more than 180 portfolio companies across 14 countries. TeamApt is its first investment in Africa. FT Partners served as a financial and strategic advisor to TeamApt in the financing round, highlighting FT Partners' track record in the payments space across emerging markets.

Upper90 Closes $180 Million Fund for Asset-Based Startup Lending

Upper90, a leading provider of hybrid growth capital, has raised $180 million in a capped initial closing for its third fund. Commitments came from a strategic investor base of 300 entrepreneurs to help founders scale with less dilution. The firm has pioneered a new investment model combining tailored credit and equity to align with technology businesses with predictable revenue or collateral. Since raising Fund I in 2018, Upper90 manages and has syndicated over $2.2 billion across 43 portfolio companies generating attractive risk-adjusted returns through asset-backed credit structures.

Payments Tech Firm Finix Raises $30M

Payments infrastructure platform Finix has raised $30 million in a funding round joined by American Express.The General Partnership, Franklin Templeton, Acrew Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, Cap Table Coalition, Homebrew, Insight Partners, Inspired Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Precursor Ventures, PSP Growth, and Vamos Ventures participated in the round. In a tough funding environment, Finix says that the financing is at an increased valuation on its last round in early 2020. However, it has not specified the valuation.

Lending Verification Fintech Truework Raises $50 Million

Truework, a fintech company that provides income and employment verification for the nation's largest mortgage, auto, and consumer lenders to approve more borrowers in a fraction of the time, announced it raised $50 million in Series C funding. Leading the Series C round was G Squared, with returning investors Sequoia Capital, Activant Capital, and Khosla Ventures also participating. By digitizing and simplifying the income and employment verification process for banks, lenders, payroll providers, and HR departments, Truework streamlines the lending process for both lender and borrower.

Founderpath Secures $145M in Debt and Equity to Help B2B SaaS Startup Founders Avoid Dilution

Founderpath, the platform 6,500 bootstrapped B2B SaaS founders use to get capital, announced $145m in debt and equity funding to continue helping more B2B SaaS founders hit $10m in revenue without selling equity. Founderpath chose to bypass traditional VC’s and instead raised from a collection of top SaaS founders. The round was led by Coromandel Capital and Forbright Bank on the debt side ($8b AUM) and Singh Capital Partners (SCP) on the equity side. 

Creades Invests SEK 102 Million in Findity

Creades AB, a Swedish investment company, invests SEK 102 million in Findity and becomes the company's largest owner. The SEK 102 million purchase of existing shares in Findity makes Creades AB (publ) the largest owner of Findity, at 35%. Creades was founded in 2011 and is listed on Stockholm  Nasdaq OMX main market. Creades invests in listed and private companies and other current holdings include Avanza, Instabox, Apotea and Mentimeter.

Mexican Startup Clara Receives $150 million in Debt Financing from Goldman Sachs

Clara, the leading Latin American tech startup that offers an end-to-end corporate spend management solution for companies in the region, announced approved financing from Goldman Sachs for an initial $50 million with the option to upsize to $150 million. The company is currently working with over 6,000 companies across Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia and aims to double this number by the end of the year.

Equalum Secures $14M in Series C Funding to Expand Delivery of Continuous Data Integration

Equalum, a best-in-class provider of data integration and ingestion solutions, announced a $14M Series C financing round. The investors include Planven, United Ventures, Innovation Endeavours, Saints Capital and the company’s newest partner, SpringTide Ventures. Total fundraising now stands at $39M as the company leads the industry in helping organizations connect to, transform, manipulate, and synchronize disparate data from multiple sources at unmatched speed and scalability.

Geopagos Receives US $35 Million in a Round led by Riverwood Capital

Geopagos, the payment acceptance infrastructure with the most comprehensive omnichannel offering in Latin America, has announced that it has received a $35 million equity round led by Riverwood Capital, a global investor in high-growth technology companies, with participation in Endeavor Catalyst. The round represents the company’s first institutional financing and will facilitate the acceleration of its expansion plan in Latin America while increasing investments in its technological infrastructure.

Penfold Closes £7M Series A Funding Round to Accelerate Growth

Penfold, the digital pensions platform, announces the close of its £7m Series A funding round. This follows the significant expansion of the business and the launch of its workplace pension platform in late 2021. The round was led by Bridford Group, an investment group that deploys its permanent proprietary capital in a range of sectors, including tech, sustainability, and biotech. Bridford Group and its affiliates have been invested in Penfold since its first funding round in 2018.