Bloom (website), a Sudan-based fintech company that offers a high-interest savings account and digital banking services, has secured a $6.5 million seed round funding. That funding round included fintech giant Visa, Y Combinator, U.S.-based VCs Global Founders Capital (GFC) and Goodwater Capital, and UAE-based early-stage venture firm VentureSouq. Other investors include angels Arash Ferdowsi, co-founder of Dropbox, Nicolas Kopp, former U.S. CEO of N26, soccer players Blaise Matuidi and Kieran Gibbs, and early employees of Revolut and Tide.
Visa’s investment was one of the incentives for Bloom’s participation in the global card scheme’s Fintech Fast Track Program. Bloom was the first Sudanese startup to be accepted into the program. As a result, Bloom switched its cards from Mastercard to Visa.
“Visa’s investment is critical for companies like us for several reasons. First, working with Visa as a partner provides several benefits, such as faster time to market for products, marketing support and product support, and second, in addition to the investment, Visa Fintech Fast Track allows easier access to these incentives,” stated CEO Ahmed Ismail.
The company was part of this year’s winter batch of Y Combinator. The fintech has more than 100,000 clients.