Kenyan Fintech Startup Kwara Raises Sh450 Million Seed Funding

Kenyan fintech Kwara has raised $4 million (Sh450 million) seed funding to help local SACCOs turn into modern digital banks.

The capital will see the start-up further develop its neobank app that will enable people to sign up with their preferred SACCOs to access various financial services. 

“We want to make credit unions as efficient as they can be by giving their members the kind of neobank experiences they wish to have,” Kwara co-founder and CEO Cynthia Wandia.

Users of the app that will be launched mid-next year will be able to track their personal financial flows, view and download their financial statements, apply for loans and make repayments.

Kwara co-founder and COO David Hwan, said: “By giving power to the members, we are extending the freedom that credit unions need to focus on their core business or more value-added tasks.”

Hwan says the new version of the app has been tested for feasibility, with sn uptake of between 60 and 90 percent.

Founded in 2018 by Wandia and Hwan, Kwara currently serves approximately 60,000 SACCO members and handles up to $40 million in monthly transactions on its platform. It has expanded to South Africa and the Philippines over the past year.

Kwara links SACCOs with banks, payment gateways, and other third parties through an open API. 

The seed funding was secured from investors across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States.