Grace Ashiru
Sudanese financial technology firm Bloom has secured early funding for USD 6.5M from investors including VentureSouq, Goodwater Capital, Global Founders Capital and Y Combinator.
Nicolas Kopp and Kieran Gibbs are also investors, as well as former U.S. Chief Executive Officer of N26, Football players Blaise Matuidi, early employees of Tide and Revolut and co-founder of Dropbox Arash Ferdowsi.
Bloom was started in July 2021 by Ahmed Ismail, Abdigani Diriye, Youcef Oudjidane, and Khalid Keenan. Customers can save money in dollars through the company’s fee-free accounts, but they can make payments and purchases using Sudanese pounds instead.
Furthermore, it provides both dollar and local cards, in addition to a feature that enables customers to obtain free remittance from a variety of countries all over the world, mainly from those regions where the mass Sudanese diaspora reside.
Income for Bloom comes from interest on such deposits, interchange, and several other sources. The investment from Visa was one of Bloom’s advantages as a result of participating in the Fintech Fast Track Program of the international payment system.
Bloom, the first company from Sudan to be allowed into the program, switched from utilizing Mastercard as its payment method to using Visa as a direct result of establishing a collaboration between the two companies.
Bloom, the first company in Sudan to be allowed into the scheme, switched from utilizing Mastercard as its payment method to using Visa as a direct result of establishing a collaboration between the two companies.
The investment in Visa is necessary for companies like ours for various factors. In addition to the financial commitment, the Visa Fintech Fast Track program allows you to access several financial rewards easily. Becoming a Visa partner entitles you to several benefits, including expedited product launches, assistance with marketing, and help with product development. Chief Executive Officer Ahmed Ismail made the announcement.
As stated by Bloom and officials from Visa, this partnership and investment have the potential to significantly accelerate the use of Visa cards in East Africa and Sudan.
