Algbra raised £3.75m in fundraising backed by SFC Capital, British Business Investments and New World Group in a bid to close the racialised wealth and social gap.
Following the round, Algbra is set to launch a core set of financial products, including current accounts, foreign exchange, remittances and rewards, with lending products to follow shortly.
The UK-based values-focused digital finance provider aims to bring an end to community and ethnicity-based financial inequality. Founded by Zeiad Idris and Fizel Nejabat, the firm’s mission is to “educate, engage and empower overlooked minority communities and facilitate their ability to take control of their finances,” it said. This includes actively facilitating social mobility and enhance financial inclusion for a global market of two billion Muslims of which 800 million are unbanked.
The financial services industry has largely been a cause of the racialised wealth and social gap, where ethnic minorities are at least twice as likely to face obstacles when using financial services in the UK and US, the firm said. The reasons for this include values-based exclusion, racial profiling and lack of trust.
To solve this issue, Algbra seeks to become like the ‘Nandos’ of FinTech.’ Its platform fits with the everyday financing needs of ethically-minded consumers, offering products and services that guarantee transparency, fairness, sustainability and non-interest-based finance.
Commenting on the firm’s goals, Idris said, “We are the first FinTech to take a fully values-based approach to serving communities with a truly systemic approach to financial inclusion. Moreover, we are committed to engaging, educating and empowering minorities to close the wealth and social gaps that exist. There are 1.3 billion addressable people on the planet who remain unbanked. If we want to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic to a better version of our world, we cannot do that without ensuring that everyone can participate in today’s financial system and therefore be included in modern society.”
Echoing a similar sentiment, Nejabat added, “Society, including minority communities, are increasingly opting for financial services that accord with their values and beliefs. The climate strike and Black Lives Matter protests have highlighted the need for financial services to offer minority communities a lever of power within their financial lives. Therefore, it is essential that our industry responds in a more systematic fashion, building organisations and delivering financial products that shift corporate shareholder primacy to stakeholder priority to address the deep inequalities that exist and offer solutions that are suitable for all.”
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