ICYMI funding round-up: RDC, Hokodo, TreasurySpring, Now & more

Written by Alex Hamilton
11th June 2021

At FinTech Futures, we know that it can be easy to let funding announcements slip you by in this fast-paced industry. That’s why we put together our weekly ‘In Case You Missed It’ (ICYMI) funding roundup for you to get the latest funding news.

Ada Guan, RDC CEO

Rich Data Corporation (RDC), an AI-based credit risk management firm, has raised $15 million in a funding round featuring new investor BMY Group.

Funds raised will enable RDC to accelerate its growth initiatives in Australia and offshore, including into Asia, the US and Europe.

RDC co-founder and CEO Ada Guan says: “We have very strong demand from financial services companies around the world who want to provide more access to credit that better suits their borrowers’ needs and propensity to pay.

“Our pipeline from well-known banks and other financial services companies continues to rapidly expand, underpinning our exciting growth trajectory.”

Hokodo, a fintech servicing B2B merchants with instant payments, has raised $12.5 million in a Series A funding round.

The round was led by Mosaic Ventures and featured Notion Capital plus a handful of angel investors, including Taavet Hinrikus, founder of Wise.

Founded in 2018 by Richard Thornton, Louis Carbonnier and Sami Ben Hatit, Hokodo provides B2B merchants with real-time trade credit solutions.

The firm says it has been designed specifically to remove the complexity and risks associated with offering credit terms online.

London-based TreasurySpring has raised $10 million in Series A funding to build out its fixed-term fund platform it claims is a “world first”.

The Series A was co-led by MMC Ventures and Anthemis Group, with participation from existing investors including ETFS Capital.

Founded in 2016 by long-term business partners Kevin Cook, Matthew Longhurst and James Skillen, TreasurySpring’s FTF platform enables holders of large cash balances to “minimise risk and maximise returns”, providing “simple, digital access” to a range of proprietary cash investments.

The financing round will support the growth of the team, with a particular focus on sales and marketing.

Business invoicing firm Now has raised $9.5 million in a Series A funding round led by the Virgo Investment Group.

Now claims to have served over 1,000 small businesses and processed over $700 million in transactions.

The firm plans to use its new capital to scale its offerings and reach more potential customers.

German financial advisory app wajve has nabbed €5 million in seed funding in a round led by EQT Ventures.

Wajve says it enables “excellent financial decisions in seconds” for the younger generation, combining banking, financial education and advice in one app – with a special focus on Gen Z.

The funding will be used to accelerate the roll-out of the platform, which has just launched, for customers in Germany before expanding into other European markets.

“It’s our ambition to become a trusted financial advisor to Gen Z across Europe, supporting the next generation to achieve financial stability and independence,” says CEO Bastian Krautwald.

Barry McCarthy, CEO of Assure Hedge

Irish foreign exchange technology firm Assure Hedge has closed a €5 million funding round to support its plans for rapid expansion.

The funds will be used to hire new staff and to invest in new product development and channels to market.

Assure Hedge’s EZFX Broker product provides FX hedging quotations to SMEs without the need to invest in technology or internal resources for complex treasury management.

A new product launch is targeted for July, which will enhance accessibility and broaden the range of brokers and financial intermediaries Assure Hedge can work with.

London-based fintech LemonEdge (formerly LemonTree Software) has secured funding of $2.5 million.

LemonEdge enables firms in the private equity and financial services industries to digitise complex accounting. It says many still run on old, “insecure” legacy systems or spreadsheets.

LemonEdge’s low-code platform is fully customisable and automates the complex and time consuming tasks required for shadow accounting.

Gareth Hewitt, CEO, says: “LemonEdge’s low-code platform delivers the next generation of private equity performance and accounting software.”

ING has spun out its Software-as-a-Service subsidiary Stemly, and helped it raise $2.5 million.

One of the first initiatives to be incubated in ING Labs Singapore in 2018, Stemly was created to address the gap in decision intelligence that exists in supply chain operations.

Powered by autonomous machine learning technology, Stemly says it can greatly enhance the decision-making capabilities of enterprises by demystifying data science.

“Businesses are challenged by the uncertainty in supply chains, where demand and supply fluctuations have been amplified by the pandemic of late,” says co-founder Sanjay Saini.

“Stemly empowers managers to make better and faster decisions in demand forecasting, inventory optimisation and cash flow management.”

Abhi, a Pakistani fintech aimed at helping customers borrow money without taking out loans, has raised $2 million in seed funding.

Abhi will use the funds to develop its platform’s technology and increase hiring, as well as for marketing activities and other operational expenses.

The firm is currently conducting a three-month pilot programme in Pakistan involving 20 companies across multiple sectors.

Envel, a Boston-based fintech, has raised $2 million from nearly 2,000 crowdfunding investors.

Envel is a mobile banking app with a Visa debit card that uses an automated envelope system powered by AI.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to raise capital in this way, it’s great validation that the public believe in our mission and we’re heading in the right direction,” says Steve Le Roux, founder and CEO.

“It’s a great community to tap into for constructive feedback, all wanting to use our service and vested in our success.”