Zywa, a FinTech start-up that focuses on teenagers, raised $3 million in a new funding round with the company’s valuation now reaching more than Dh110m ($30m) the company announced on Tuesday.
The start-up, which is part of Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem Hub71, offers a prepaid card to teenagers and an app to manage and save money.
Investors who participated in the latest funding round included Goodwater Capital, Dubai Future District Fund, Rebel Fund, Trampoline VC, Zemu VC, some European family offices and strategic angel investors, Zywa said in a statement.
The new funds will help the company to focus on product, growth and strategic partnerships to accelerate its growth in the UAE and Egypt markets, and support the launch of its services in Saudi Arabia — the Arab world’s biggest economy — by early next year, said Alok Kumar, co-founder and chief executive of Zywa.
“Gen Zs in the UAE spend about Dh5 billion every year and still rely on cash or their parents’ cards, despite having options like supplementary cards issued by their parents’ banks," he said. "While these options give access to digital payments, they are not fundamentally designed for Gen Z and this is where we add value."
Founded in 2021, Zywa offers a gamified community-based banking app and payment card to Gen Z youngsters aged 11 to 25. Through the app, parents can send money to their children and oversee their spending and saving habits.
In the Middle East, the FinTech sector is undergoing rapid expansion. By 2022, more than 800 FinTech companies operating in various segments such as payments, InsureTech and cyber security, are projected to raise more than $2bn in venture capital funding to boost their growth, UAE lender Mashreq said in February, citing data from the Middle East Institute.
Globally, digital payments are expected to grow to $8.26 trillion by 2024, from $4.4tn in 2020, Statista said.
Zywa in February raised $1m in a pre-seed round that was led by Y Combinator. It recently joined Hub71, gaining access to Abu Dhabi’s capital ecosystem, a global network of partners and a community of highly skilled talent.
“With Gen Z, we need to hit the nail on the sweet spot between community, gamified learning and payment access,” said Nuha Hashem, co-founder and chief technology officer of Zywa.
“We want them [Gen Z users] to experience banking in a cool way that sets a high standard for them in the future. This funding will also help us tailor the product to a new audience in my home country [Egypt] and the country where I grew up [Saudi Arabia]."
In only four months of the pre-seed round, Zywa received more than 100,000 sign-ups.
“We are excited to back Zywa as we believe financial education needs to be revolutionised for teens in this changing economy,” said Samantha Ku, chief operating officer of Square Financial Services, one of the strategic angel investors who joined the latest funding round.
Honeymoonish
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UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MEFCC information
Tickets range from Dh110 for an advance single-day pass to Dh300 for a weekend pass at the door. VIP tickets have sold out. Visit www.mefcc.com to purchase tickets in advance.
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
Have you been targeted?
Tuan Phan of SimplyFI.org lists five signs you have been mis-sold to:
1. Your pension fund has been placed inside an offshore insurance wrapper with a hefty upfront commission.
2. The money has been transferred into a structured note. These products have high upfront, recurring commission and should never be in a pension account.
3. You have also been sold investment funds with an upfront initial charge of around 5 per cent. ETFs, for example, have no upfront charges.
4. The adviser charges a 1 per cent charge for managing your assets. They are being paid for doing nothing. They have already claimed massive amounts in hidden upfront commission.
5. Total annual management cost for your pension account is 2 per cent or more, including platform, underlying fund and advice charges.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
ELECTION%20RESULTS
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
No.6 Collaborations Project
Ed Sheeran (Atlantic)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
In 2018, the ICRC received 27,756 trace requests in the Middle East alone. The global total was 45,507.
There are 139,018 global trace requests that have not been resolved yet, 55,672 of these are in the Middle East region.
More than 540,000 individuals approached the ICRC in the Middle East asking to be reunited with missing loved ones in 2018.
The total figure for the entire world was 654,000 in 2018.
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
