Grace Ashiru
Plesion Capital has announced that it will be a social impact venture capital firm that will work with entrepreneurs and businesses with a mission to fight global poverty.
It works by making pre-seed and seed investments in promising entrepreneurs whose products and services make people’s lives better by making them less poor and giving the economy more chances to grow.
Beyond Capital, Ventures is leading a $2 million seed round for Uganda-based XENO Corporation (“XENO”), and Plesion Capital has said that it will put $500,000 into the round.
The founder and CEO of XENO are Aéko Ongodia. It is a fintech platform that helps millions of Africans plan, save, and invest for their financial goals, even without internet access. XENO is available on the web and as a mobile app for people with internet access.
Mobile money can be used to pay for XENO; the app is already on 14 million phones in Uganda. XENO’s free goal-based investment planning and low management fees set the stage for people who didn’t have access to good banking and investing services.
XENO works to help Africans become financially stable and independent by encouraging and making it easier for them to invest.
Most of the 428 million people who work in Sub-Saharan Africa do not save or invest their money. This shows how ample the market opportunity is and how XENO could make a big difference in many people’s lives.
Over time, people who do this lose money because of inflation and other things. The innovative business strategy and easy-to-use technology of XENO are addressing these issues and helping solve other long-term problems, like old people living in poverty and always borrowing money from others.
XENO is expanding into crucial areas such as Kenya and Nigeria, with a growing customer base and a 97% retention rate.
Ben Finlay, the founder and managing partner of Plesion Capital, said, “Our investment in XENO fits with our goal to help people who live below the poverty line.”
Aéko is a great leader who has made a useful and easy platform to scale up. This platform can potentially change how people in Africa handle their money.
We are excited to work with the company to help it progress its strategic aims and expand its user base.”
Plesion Capital is currently focusing its efforts on African-based investment projects capable of addressing important socioeconomic challenges across the continent.
The company’s top priorities are ensuring people have access to clean water and food and improving the financial and physical infrastructure. Africa is at a crossroads between a rapidly growing technological infrastructure and a critical need for basic problems that poor and marginalized people face that can be solved on a large scale.
Plesion Capital works with like-minded entrepreneurs with good business ideas and new products that can spark significant changes that improve the lives of people who have been left out. In the future, Plesion Capital wants to expand into more global markets.
An Overview of What Plesion Capital Does
Plesion Capital is a social impact venture capital firm that works with entrepreneurs and businesses with a mission to fight poverty around the world.
Plesion Capital’s strategy is to make pre-seed and seed investments in entrepreneurs with good ideas whose products and services improve people’s lives by getting them out of extreme poverty and opening up new opportunities for economic growth.
Plesion Cash, founded by Ben Finlay in July 2022, is deploying capital from its first fund.
Please visit www.plesioncapital.com for more information.
