Turnkey lender, FairPlay, Bloom and more

Our weekly roundup for you to get the latest fintech funding news from around the world. With turnkey lenders, FairPlay, Bloom, Inveztor, Hardbacon and Dufrain.

Global B2B software-as-a-service (SaaS) company Turnkey lender have raised 10 million dollars in a new funding round led by OTB Ventures.

Turnkey lender lands $10 million

The round, a mix of equity financing and debt, also saw participation from DEG and Vertex Ventures.

TurnKey Lender says it will use the new funds to “take advantage” of emerging opportunities in macro trends for embedded lending adoption across North America, Europe and Southeast Asia.

It has also appointed former Intel executive vice president Christian Morales as chairman.

Morales has over 40 years of senior experience from leading global technology institutions. In his new role, he will work to ensure that the company continues its growth in revenue, hiring, strategic partnerships and customer relationships.

Founded in 2014, TurnKey Lender offers a SaaS platform that automates the digital lending process in developed and developing markets.

California-based Fair playwhich provides an algorithmic decision-making solution for credit lending, has secured itself 10 million dollars in Series A financing.

The round was led by Nyca Partners with participation from Cross River Digital Ventures, Third Prime, Fin Capital, TTV, Nevcaut Ventures, Financial Venture Studio and Jonathan Weiner.

Launched in 2020, FairPlay uses AI “fairness” techniques to reduce algorithmic bias for people of color, women and other historically disadvantaged groups.

FairPlay claims its solution enables lenders to identify and reduce biases in their credit models, increasing profitability and financial inclusion.

“Fairness-as-a-service is growing rapidly,” says Kareem Saleh, founder and CEO of FairPlay. “Lenders use FairPlay because they believe, as we do, that fairness is good for people, profits and progress.”

Sudan-based fintech Bloomwhich offers “fair and inclusive” financial services in East Africa, has brought in 6.5 million dollars in a seed funding round.

Flower bags $6.5 million

The funding saw participation from Y Combinator, Global Founders Capital, Goodwater Capital, Visa and VentureSouq, along with a number of angel investors.

The company says it will use the fresh cash to recruit “world-class” talent, improve customer experience and offer new financial services to its members in Sudan and the wider East Africa region.

The digital banking firm is the first Sudanese company to join Visa’s Fintech Fast Track program.

Founded in 2021 and recently graduated from Y Combinator’s 2022 batch, Bloom claims to have more than 100,000 users registered on the waiting list to access the app.

London-based startup Investor have raised 1.3 million pounds in an oversubscribed pre-seed fundraising round.

The round was attended by 17 investors. Marcus Everard (via Skye Capital) and StemFinancial led the round, with Portfolio Ventures and other angels participating.

Inveztor is a fintech company that provides software to agents and market participants in debt capital markets.

The company says it is building a digital platform where deal teams can collaborate and manage debt securities including bonds and escrows. The platform brings together issuers, advisors and legal counsel to allow agents to intelligently manage deals in a real-time environment.

Inveztor says they will launch the product in September.

Hard bacona Canadian personal finance application, has secured $706,000 in funding from more than 500 investors through the FrontFundr equity crowdfunding portal.

Hardbacon raises capital via crowdfunding

It first launched its equity crowdfunding campaign back in May. With the new funding, Hardbacon’s total funding has now reached more than $3.1 million since inception.

The investment will be used to increase the company’s growth. Currently, Hardbacon says it has 232,000 monthly unique visitors and plans to double its reach by the end of the year.

Hardbacon helps Canadians plan, budget and invest, while enabling users to compare various financial services such as credit cards, bank accounts, online brokers, robo-advisors, mortgages and crypto exchanges.

Looking ahead, Hardbacon announced that they intend to go public in 2023.

Dufraina consulting company for data management services and data analysis, has secured one undisclosed investment from Phoenix Equity Partners, a UK growth-focused private equity firm.

The company says the move is intended to fuel the next phase of growth as part of a management buyout.

Founded in 2010, Dufrain helps its financial services and banking clients discover, manage and optimize data to gain insights and make informed business decisions.

It employs over 170 IT professionals from its offices in Edinburgh, Manchester and London.

Dufrain claims to have had 40% year-on-year revenue growth over the past two years. It adds that the investment will allow the business to continue its growth by expanding its footprint across multiple geographies and sectors as well as further developing its in-house technology solutions.