Grow Credit, which hopes to bolster financial inclusion, has netted $106.3m in its seed round, which comprised of debt and equity.
The round was made of $6.3m in equity from a group of investors, which included Mucker Capital, Commerce Ventures, Blue Ridge Bankshares and BillGO. As part of the deal, BillGO will provide Grow with its biller network to help promote financial health for consumers.
Several angel backers also joined the round, including Marqeta CEO Jason Gardner, DraftKings CEO Jason Robins, NBA All-Star Baron Davis, Omaze president Will Kassoy, and Matt Higgins, who is vice-chair of the Miami Dolphins.
The remaining $100m was comprised of $100, which was supplied by Arena Investors.
Grow launched nationwide in the US in 2020 and its monthly recurring revenue has increased by 2,000%.
The black-owned FinTech hopes to transform corporations and small businesses into financial inclusion-focused organisations. It hopes to do this through a platform that reduces employee turnover and boosting their credit scores. Its virtual Mastercard manages subscription payments and reports loan balances to credit bureaus.
Grow Credit CEO and founder Joe Bayen said, “We are excited to have gathered such a fantastic group of influential investors.
“The funds will be deployed to accelerate our user acquisition effort, including embedding the Grow Credit user experience across banks, apps, and websites through our dedicated SDK. As a result, partners will be able to monetize their audience by offering a financial inclusion solution that builds credit while providing savings on a variety of subscriptions, including cell phone bills.”
To support its growth plans, Grow named Truebill VP of marketing Yasi Samimi as its new growth advisor.
Samimi said, “I wish a platform like Grow Credit was around back when I was working to build my credit history. Their mission and product instantly resonated with me. I think about the impact that discovering Grow Credit can make on people’s lives, and that makes supporting them on the marketing side extremely rewarding and exciting.”
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