Guava, a banking and networking platform for black entrepreneurs, creators, and small business owners, has secured $2.4m from a funding round.
The round was headed by Heron Rock and saw participation from Precursor Ventures, Backstage Capital, Ruthless for Good Fund and investors Ed Zimmerman and Lexi Reese.
Guava offers digital banking services and a community platform built to address the specific needs of Black entrepreneurs.
The company was recently selected to join Mastercard’s Smart Path startup engagement program and was also named first-place winner of the NYC Recovery Challenge, which is a partnership with Google, Cornell and Tech: NYC to support firms that address underlying issues and provide equitable and sustainable growth through innovation.
Guava CEO and founder Kelly Ifill said, “Black business owners are among the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the US, yet 70% of Black Americans don’t have a bank branch in their neighbourhood. This is the inequity Guava is working to address. This fundraise supports that mission to increase access to capital for our communities.”
Bento, which aims to transform the traditional dental insurance industry, recently collected $8.1m in its Series A funding round.
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