Mobile lending app Branch International has raised $170m in a Series C financing round led by Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Foundation Capital and Visa.
Image: Branch secures $170m funding from Foundation Capital, Visa and others. Photo: courtesy of aymane jdidi/Pixabay.
Existing investors of Branch International – Andreessen Horowitz, Trinity Ventures, Formation 8, the IFC, Credit Ease, and Victory Park – also took part in the funding round along with new investors – Greenspring, B Capital and Foxhaven.
Established in 2015, the mobile lending app uses the power of data science and mobile technology to reduce the barriers of providing financial services in emerging markets. The company has offices in the US, Nigeria, Mexico, India and Kenya.
Branch after taking explicit permission from its customers analyzes smartphone data to determine loan eligibility. The company’s machine learning algorithms are claimed to process thousands of data points to generate personalized loan options within seconds.
The mobile lending app boasts of more than three million customers and has processed 13 million loans, disbursing more than $350m.
Foundation Capital’s Charles Moldow said: “I’ve known the Branch team since right after the company was founded.
“After tracking them for years, it has become clear to me that emerging markets are one of the biggest growth areas for fintech. Our history of successful fintech investments is evidence that we know how to spot true innovators, like Branch.
“The team has executed incredibly well and is poised to become the cross-border financial super-app.”
Visa’s investment in the mobile lending app is expected to help grow financial access in Africa while triggering new expansion in India and Latin America.
Branch has also entered into a partnership with Visa to provide virtual prepaid debit card numbers to customers across the world. The move is expected to give unbanked branch customers an option to get credit at any physical ATM without the need of having a bank account.
Branch CEO and co-founder Matthew Flannery said: “We started Branch in Kenya, where M-Pesa gives anyone with a phone — including the unbanked — access to digital credit. Unfortunately, mobile money isn’t available in most countries. With the help of Visa, now we can send cash to any ATM and reach the underserved around the planet.”