Posting the Daily Fintech Crunch of the 18th of Feb today as I had some issues with LinkedIn. Its all sorted, so here we go with a curated set of news bites about the latest updates on payments, fintech, defi, crypto, and the world beyond…
? FinTech:
- Berlin-based Konvi, a pan-European crowd-funding platform, has raised $900,000
in pre-seed funding. The fintech platform promotes exclusive investments and partial ownership in alternative luxury assets like rare watches, fine wine, and valuable art pieces.
- Payments business Magnati has teamed up with Careem
, an Egyptian ride hailing app, to facilitate the development of new payment options. Magnati will contribute to the expansion of the financial services supplied by Careem Pay, the company's digital wallet and fintech subsidiary. Customers will be able to utilize their digital wallet to conduct peer-to-peer transactions, pay utility bills, and purchase products and services.
- This year's Most Influential Women in Payments awardees come from all across the world. American Banker highlights 25 professionals in the fintech industry who have demonstrated a great skill of career mobility and utilized technology to propel business and connect a hybrid workforce. You can find the full list here
.
- Kyash, a mobile banking software company located in Tokyo, has secured $41.2 million in Series D fundraising
backed by Block (formerly known as Square). This makes Kyash the first investment in an Asia-based company for Block.
- Indi, a banking app for gig workers, is uplifting Pittsburgh’s startup scene. While the fintech company is still small – consisting of 20 persons – the recent partnership with Steady as well as the upcoming launch of a new payment program provides the company the push it needs
to accelerate growth.
- Kennedy Ekezie-Joseph, CEO and co-founder of Kippa, talks about the financial inclusion and the fintech industry in Africa – namely Nigeria. Ekezie-Joseph has a dynamic background, having received awards from Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth II, spoken at the UN Youth Assembly, hosted two TEDx talks, and even led TikTok’s expansion into Africa. Read the full interview here
.
?? Crypto & DeFi:
- The ruble has plummeted to pennies on the dollar, and Russian stocks are collapsing. At the same time, cryptocurrency markets jumped more than 10% since the start of the war. Russians bought cryptocurrency as a resort of the currency drop, sparking a fresh bull run
.
?? Metaverse & NFTs:
- Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) has just made quite the significant purchase
, buying the IP of CryptoPunks, the most valuable NFT collection in terms of trade volume. This means that BAYC now owns the copyright of 400+ CryptoPunk NFTs and 1,711 Meebits. The size of both collections is worth over $3 billion.
- Two Indian IT firms, Infosys and Tech Mahindra
, are joining the metaverse. Infosys is launching a metaverse foundry to help clients explore the emerging virtual universe, using AR, VR, blockchain, NFTs, IoT, and 5G. The firm has developed 100+ templates for setting up immersive experiences,such as shopping. Tech Mahindra on the other hand launched TechMVerse to deliver interactive experiences for customers in industries such as vehicle dealership, NFT marketplace, virtual banking, and gaming.
- AmEx is exploring metaverse possibilities. The credit card company is filing for trademark applications
to offer its payment services in the metaverse, but also wants to provide other features like travel and transportation, entertainment, and crypto services.
?? Graphic of the Day:
- A brilliant representation of business banking and finances in a periodic table by Open Financial Technologies
covering finance terms worth knowing in the industry. You can download the full PDF here
.
?? Other News:
- We’ve all heard of countless investments made in unicorn startups…. but what about the cockroaches? Cockroach businesses are robust, aiming for long-term, consistent growth. Profitability is built into the perfect cockroach route from the start. Being successful from the beginning with a lean, low-cost company allows entrepreneurs to develop at their own speed. Read about the model and why it might be preferable to the unicorn model
.
?? Report of the Day:
- Are you prepared to enter the metaverse? The metaverse is a continuum network of digitally upgraded worlds, realities, and economic structures. It applies to all elements of business, from the consumer to the worker, and across the entire firm. The Technolo0511gy Vision 2022 report
by Accenture explores the continuum of technology and its trends.
??? Have any questions? Liked what you read? Let me know in the comments so that I can tailor my content for you.
??? Don’t forget to like and share this post, and keep your eyes peeled for tomorrow’s post.
Until tomorrow, have a good weekend (whatever little is left of it)
