Empowering Turkish Investors

Midas is transforming the investment landscape in Turkey by making it simpler and more affordable for individuals to invest in equities. Egem Eraslan, CEO and founder of Midas, highlighted the growth of the investor base in Turkey: 

If you came to Turkey three years ago, there were only 1.5 million investors. That’s in a country of 80 million. Capital markets’ penetration rates were very, very low.

Midas has been pivotal in changing this dynamic by developing its own infrastructure, which allowed for a robust user experience and efficient market entry.

Midas differentiates itself by providing an infrastructure that supports self-clearing, self-custody, and self-execution, setting it apart from platforms like Robinhood. This approach allows the company to control the entire value chain, from clearing to custody, making it unique in the Turkish market. 

We had to launch multiple products with our own self-clearing, custody, and with the entire value chain. If you’re Robinhood, you don’t have to do self-custody or self-clearing.

Egem Eraslan

Expansion and New Product Development

With the new funding, Midas is planning to launch three new products: cryptocurrency trading, mutual funds, and savings accounts. This expansion is not just limited to Turkey. Midas aims to reach other countries in the MENA region, broadening its impact and user base. Paul Desmarais III, co-founder of Portage, and CEO and chairman of Sagard, stated: 

Midas is leading a wave of transformation within Turkey’s financial landscape. Globally, Portage invests in transformational financial technology and Midas is poised to lead that initiative in a region of early adopters.

Bridging the Financing Gap for SMEs

Softloans aims to bridge the significant gap in access to capital that many small businesses face, especially when competing against global e-commerce giants. By embedding their lending services into the digital platforms SMEs already use, Softloans makes it simpler for these businesses to obtain necessary funds without the usual complexities of traditional financing.

The pre-seed funding provides even more confidence and an opportunity to further develop the technological solution so that it is easily and smoothly applied not only to e-commerce businesses but also to businesses using POS terminals.

Audrius Griškevičius, co-founder and CEO of Softloans

Technological Innovation in Lending

The technology behind Softloans allows for the collection of data, analytics, risk assessment, and loan management, all streamlined within the digital platforms that businesses already utilize. This system enables SMEs to access financing based on their revenue, making the lending process more adaptable to their financial conditions. To date, Softloans has partnered with 10 platforms and processed data from nearly 1,000 corporate clients across Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Netherlands, Finland, and Poland.

The embedded financing tool we have developed works in such a way that the loan can be easily obtained by small and medium-sized businesses on other digital platforms that they use for their activities. The Softloans solution assesses the risks and creditworthiness of any e-shop extremely quickly and accurately. After the loan is issued, the solution constantly monitors the income flows and automatically deducts the agreed percentage for the repayment of the loan.

Audrius Griškevičius

With the fresh injection of capital, Softloans plans to expand its operations and technological development, aiming to reach more SMEs in Lithuania and beyond. This expansion is expected to help more businesses overcome the challenges of working capital constraints, fostering growth and stability in the SME sector.

Lending with No-Code Solutions

inGain’s platform empowers companies to offer tailored lending solutions without the need for extensive coding knowledge, revolutionizing how businesses integrate financing into their product offerings. This capability is crucial for companies that see traditional banking solutions as inadequate for their specific lending needs. Armands Liseks, co-founder and CEO of inGain, illustrates this point with a practical example: 

Consider a store chain in Switzerland that sells expensive musical instruments. They want to offer piano leasing because buying one outright is a significant commitment. Traditional banking solutions, like suggesting a credit card or a high-interest consumer loan, do not meet such specific needs effectively.

Approach Fit For Market Needs

The inGain no-code platform is designed to be highly flexible, allowing companies to create and manage lending solutions tailored to their products and customer needs. This approach addresses a significant gap in the market, where existing financial solutions fail to offer the necessary customization or are too complex for practical use.

Reima Linnanvirta, a partner at Trind VC, praised the inGain team’s deep industry knowledge and their innovative approach: 

The inGain team has transformed a process that typically requires custom development into a user-friendly no-code SaaS solution. Given the outdated nature of existing market solutions, inGain is well-positioned to disrupt and capture a significant market share.

The funds from this investment round will be directed towards completing the development of inGain’s self-service platform. This platform will allow any interested company to independently create a lending tool that best fits their specific product needs and customer base.

Our goal is to democratize the lending process, making it accessible, customizable, and efficient for businesses of all sizes across various sectors.

Armands Liseks, co-founder and CEO of inGain

Monkee challenges the conventional “Buy Now, Pay Later” trend by promoting mindful financial management, underlined by its impressive 300,000 app downloads and savings goals that have surpassed €250 million.

The platform gamifies saving, encouraging users to set and pursue clear financial goals while offering cashback opportunities through over 500 commerce partners. 

This latest round of funding, building on the previous €2.5 million raised, is set to fuel Monkee’s expansion and product enhancement. The alliance with VVRB not only strengthens Monkee’s offerings, especially in terms of long-term savings, but also reinforces customer trust through the backing of a reputable financial institution.

The company, known for its efficient online money transfer service, serves over 7 million customers across 160 countries. This latest funding round, provided by the Taiwan-based venture capital firm Taiwania Capital, represents a strategic move to strengthen the fintech landscape in Lithuania and Taiwan and reinforce their cooperation in developing resilient, democratic supply chains.

We raised money because we wanted to expand faster in Asia Pacific. So that’s the next frontier for us. We are still taking customers from incumbents: 75% come from cash, banks, and Western Union — that’s still the gorilla in the room.

Daumantas Dvilinskas, TransferGo сo-founder and CEO

A Bridge Between Taiwan and Lithuania

TransferGo’s recent capital infusion is part of a broader strategy to accelerate growth in the Asia-Pacific region and introduce new, innovative financial products. With over 360 employees spread across Europe, TransferGo wants to leverage this investment to solidify its presence in existing markets and transform international money transfers, making them more accessible and cost-effective.

This investment also signifies the strengthening of ties between Taiwan and Lithuania. It follows previous investments by the Central and Eastern Europe Investment Fund, managed by Taiwania Capital, in sectors such as advanced laser and AI medical technologies in Lithuania. The Fund, which focuses on investments in Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, is dedicated to fostering innovation and development across various industries, including financial technology.

A Closer Look at Regional Funding Dynamics

In this quarter, the United States emerged as the leading recipient of fintech funding, securing $3.3 billion across 393 deals. This was followed by Europe, which captured $2.2 billion through 203 deals, and Asia, with $1 billion from 210 deals. These numbers reveal a geographical concentration of funding, with the US and Europe continuing to dominate the fintech investment landscape.

Noteworthy deals from the period include a $430 million funding round for UK-based Monzo, led by Alphabet in March, alongside substantial rounds for US-based companies Bilt Rewards and Kore.ai, which raised $200 million and $150 million, respectively, in January. These deals underline the ongoing interest in fintech innovation but also hint at a more selective and cautious approach from investors.

Global Participation and Active Investors

The funding landscape wasn’t limited to the major fintech hubs. Latin America, Africa, Oceania, Canada, and other smaller regions collectively garnered 12% of the total fintech funding for the year, raising just under $700 million. This distribution underscores the global appeal of fintech innovation but also points to significant disparities in funding availability across different regions.

On the investment side, the year’s most active entities included Polychain Capital in the US, Cogitent Ventures in the UK, and Big Brain Holdings, a crypto venture fund based in the British Virgin Islands. 

OKX Ventures, the investment arm of web3 technology company and crypto exchange OKX, stood out with 21 deals, signaling a keen interest in blockchain and digital asset firms. Among these was the participation in the $100 million Series A funding round of digital asset firm HashKey in January.

While the total investment has decreased, the strategic focus of investors appears to be narrowing towards ventures that promise substantial innovation and market potential. The current trend may reflect a broader market recalibration, with stakeholders assessing the long-term viability and impact of fintech solutions amid evolving regulatory and economic landscapes.

With significant contributions from Raiffeisen Bank International, Raiffeisen-Holding Niederösterreich-Wien, and Raiffeisen-Landesbank Steiermark, EV II is set to bridge critical financing gaps, fostering a culture of innovation across a spectrum of industries.

A New Era of Venture Capital in DACH and CEE

The fund’s strategic directive is clear: to catalyze the development of startups, mostly in the fintech industry, at the forefront of technological innovation. Managed by Maximilian Schausberger and Thomas Muchar, who brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record in venture capital, Elevator Ventures is not only building upon its successful initial portfolio but also expanding its investment focus. 

Beyond the thriving FinTech sector, EV II aims to delve into emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and green transformation, signaling a broadened investment horizon.

To date, Elevator Ventures has committed close to €50 million in investments across the European landscape, nurturing a portfolio that includes 15 companies and celebrating 3 successful exits. The launch of EV II signals a renewed commitment to supporting startups through critical growth phases, with an emphasis on Series A and B funding rounds. Investment amounts are expected to range from €1 to €3 million, providing startups with the necessary capital to scale operations and achieve market penetration.

The involvement of key players from the banking sector in EV II not only solidifies the fund’s financial base but also enriches its strategic capacity. 

With a fund volume of €70M, we double our resources to support startups. The increased commitment of RBI and the entry of Raiffeisen-Holding Niederösterreich-Wien as well as Raiffeisen-Landesbank Steiermark confirms our strategy and enables us to use their strong networks of expertise and business opportunities for our portfolio companies

Maximilian Schausberger

Since its inception in late November of the previous year, Nectaro has facilitated nearly €800,000 in loans, with an average investment amount exceeding €4,800. The platform primarily serves the Latvian market but has seen significant interest from investors across Germany, Lithuania, Austria, and Portugal.

Expanding Investment Opportunities

Looking ahead, Nectaro is set to broaden its investment portfolio by venturing into new sectors and geographical areas, offering a wider array of options to its investors. Plans are underway to introduce a reinvestment tool to streamline investment processes and improve overall user satisfaction.

Under the leadership of CEO and Board Member Sigita Kotlere, Nectaro is not only focused on expanding its financial offerings but also on bridging the knowledge gap in investments. The platform includes a knowledge hub that provides easy-to-understand content about investment advantages, risks, and other pertinent topics. 

This year, Nectaro intends to diversify its educational content to empower investors with the knowledge needed to make informed decisions.

We aim to democratize investing and overcome misconceptions about investments as such for individual investors, whose participation in the market becomes more prominent, so I am thrilled that our first months have shown a promising start to our and investors’ journey. The results underline the demand for simple alternative investment solutions in the European market that can pave the way for individuals to achieve their long-term financial goals. We continue our development strategy and have started this year strong by expanding our portfolio with investments, offering secure opportunities with flexible terms

Sigita Kotlere, CEO and Board Member of Nectaro

The company operates under a rigorous regulatory framework, holding an Investment Brokerage Firm license from the Bank of Latvia. This enables them to offer comprehensive investment services while ensuring investor security through mechanisms like the Buyback Obligation, which guarantees investors the return of their full investment amount should a borrower fail to repay the loan.

With the help of Gapminder Ventures, Underline Ventures, and a team of angel investors, Genezio is set to change the traditional app development process by introducing automation and efficiency like never before.

A Fresh Take on App Development

At the core of Genezio’s vision is a platform designed to streamline coding and deployment, reducing the barriers developers face daily.

Genezio’s mission is to remove the complexities often associated with running code, offering a platform where developers can directly deploy their work. 

Developers want complexity removed from running the code. They want to take the code and just ‘genezio-deploy’ it.

Genezio team

Leadership with a Track Record

Andrei Pitis, CEO and somebody known for his previous ventures in VectorWatch and Fitbit, leads the team alongside other seasoned tech experts. Together, they believe in leveraging tools like Copilot and ChatGPT to change the way programmers write code.

Genezio’s serverless platform stands out by offering a type-safe environment, which ensures that the generated code is not only quick to deploy but also secure. 

Early users of the platform in its beta phase have reported significant reductions in the time to market, highlighting Genezio’s potential to transform app development efficiency. 

With ambitions to expand its user base and enterprise sales, Genezio is investing in marketing and partner training – with hopes to make a notable impact in English-speaking markets and beyond.

Designed from the ground up to be future-proof, Genezio will save precious time for the millions of AI-enabled developers of the future.

CEO Andrei Pitis

Empowering SMEs with AI

Founded in 2021 by William Jalloul, a guy with a knack for entrepreneurship and finance, Flowpay is on a mission to make sure small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) get the operational funding they need without the usual hassle. Using AI, they’ve created a platform that cuts through the red tape, analyzing real operational data to finance businesses. It’s about getting SMEs the growth tools they need without them having to jump through the traditional banking hoops.

Flowpay’s not just another fintech. They’ve caught the eye of the IBM fintech program, focusing on pushing generative AI in financial services. With a team of around 15, mainly data science and IT pros, they’re ready to change the game.

Vision for the Future

William Jalloul puts it plainly: Even if your business is booming, banks might still leave you high and dry when you need cash for things like restocking or advertising. That’s because banks can be pretty old-school, often relying on tax returns that don’t always tell the full story. Flowpay, on the other hand, taps directly into client data from point-of-sale systems and e-commerce platforms, using AI to figure out financing potential. Their aim? Help SMEs flourish with their 

Risk as a Service (RaaS) solution and get it into the hands of financial institutions worldwide. Investors see big potential in Flowpay. Hynek Sochor from Soulmates Ventures thinks Flowpay’s approach to credit scoring and risk assessment is revolutionary. It’s not just about faster credit evaluations; it’s about accuracy, quick access to finance, and supporting SMEs in a way that fuels sustainable business growth.

Looking ahead, Flowpay is eyeing new markets and tech developments, aiming to offer even more personalized credit solutions. They’re also looking to grow their team, ready to make an even bigger impact.