Nigeria’s automated investing platform CowryWise is the only startup from Africa to make the list of 50 World-changing startups to watch in 2019.
The annual list of winning entrepreneurs was released by Kairos, an early-stage investment fund in New York that invest in top new founders who are tackling the world’s more pressing problems. The Inc.com reports that about 2,500 earl-stage startups were referred from over 65 countries around the world and only 50 companies made the final cut. The final 50 companies get a $50,000 investment from Kairos.
“We are delighted to be named one of the 50 World-Changing Startups to Watch,” Razaq Ahmed, co-founder of CowryWise told BusinessDay, “Also, we understand the expectations on us as a team to continuously build to deliver the vision of the company which is: democratising access to financial planning, quality savings and investment product. We are leveraging our proprietary technology to scale this solution to millions of people. Everyone needs and deserves access to financial services.”
Earlier in the year, CowryWise was selected into the Y Combinator Summer 2018 Batch, a three-month programme that also brought in $120,000 in funding. Y Combinator is one of the world’s most valuable accelerators with portfolio investments in startups such as Dropbox, AirBnB, Stripe, Zenefit, Quora among others. It was described as the World’s Most Powerful Startup incubator by Fast Company.
“Finishing from Y Combinator Summer program and rounding up the year with this amazing news, we are well positioned for an interesting 2019,” Ahmed said, “Our team could not have dome this without the trust of our growing customers, partners and friends. We will keep building to their delight.”
Since it was established in 2017, CowryWise has processed over $1.5 million in savings for its customers. Its partnership with Meristem Trustees ensures that users’ savings are secured in risk-free instruments.
The company also secured an undisclosed investment from early-stage investment platform Microtraction in the middle of 2018 which it used to support its expansion plans.
