Financial freedom

• Small businesses often lack access to financial services, and this holds them back from growing and scaling. A US$7M investment into 500-backed fintech company First Circle from The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, will address this challenge head on.
• The fresh capital coupled with IFC’s deep technical expertise in helping fintech companies expand their services will unlock First Circle’s capacity to expand credit lines and deliver smarter banking solutions for underserved small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
• Since 2016, the team has funded over 3,000 unique customers, and more than two-thirds are SMEs accessing credit for the first time.
• First Circle’s innovative credit systems enable them to provide higher credit limits, flexible repayment options, and the lowest unsecured pricing in the market. They also recently expanded their services to include fee-free business banking and payment solutions.
• The team has a proven track record — SMEs are achieving an average of 80% growth in their first two years as customers.
• In the education space, they have also been offering financial literacy programs to equip SMEs with the resources they need to thrive.
• Congratulations to the First Circle team!
• Read the full story here.