Hub71 Teen-focused fintech startup Zywa raises $3M seed round – News
Investors include Goodwater Capital, Dubai Future District Fund, Rebel Fund, Trampoline VC, Zemu VC, some of the most prominent European family offices, as well as strategic angel investors.
Alok Kumar and Nuha Hashem.
Zywa, a teen-focused fintech startup reinventing banking for Gen Z in the Middle East and North Africa, has announced a $3 million seed funding round. The startup, which is part of Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, offers a prepaid card for teenagers and an app to manage and save money.
Investors participating in the round include Goodwater Capital (the largest consumer technology VC globally), Dubai Future District Fund, Rebel Fund, Trampoline VC, Zemu VC and some of the most prominent European family offices, as well as strategic angel investors.
The funding followed shortly after the company’s USD 1 million pre-seed round led by Y Combinator in February 2022. The seed round brings Zywa to a recent valuation exceeding Dh110 million, despite the current economic downturn.
Zywa recently joined Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global technology ecosystem, gaining access to Abu Dhabi’s capital ecosystem, a global network of partners and a vibrant community of highly skilled talent.
Founded in 2021 by founders Alok Kumar and Nuha Hashem, who were born and raised in Saudi Arabia, Zywa brings a unique solution to the region by offering a gamified community-based banking app and payment card to Gen Z between the ages of 11 and 11. 25 years old.
In just 4 months of the pre-seed round, Zywa received 100,000+ registrations. Gamification, community events, rewards and referrals contributed to the company’s rapid growth, as well as integrating with more than 1000+ brands tailored exclusively for Gen Z.
Nuha Hashem, co-founder and CTO of Zywa added: “With Gen Z, we need to hit the sweet spot between community, gamified learning and payment access. The Zywa app already facilitates all of the above and this can be seen in 4.8+ star rating on the App Store, as well as 85%+ of our users being active on a weekly basis, while 90% of discord users interact with us on a daily basis.The seed round will help us create more product initiatives to provide the best possible experience for our Gen Z users while building their financial literacy. We want them 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). We are proud to have a product that is localized to the MENA region and that Gen Z can resonate with.”
Samanth Ku, COO of Square Financial Services and one of the strategic angel investors who joined the round, also added: “We are excited to support Zywa as we believe financial education needs to be revolutionized for teenagers in this changing economy. Giving children early exposure to basic savings and personal finance and done in an engaging way sets the next generation up for success.”
Backed by Y Combinator and DIFC’s Fintech Hive, Zywa is creating a community of teenagers in the UAE who can connect and network with each other while building their financial literacy. Zywa has launched several community programs including internships, influencer partnerships, community events and more with key public and private sector entities in the UAE.
Alok Kumar, co-founder and CEO of Zywa said: “Gen Zs in the UAE spend around Dh5 billion plus each year and still rely on cash or their parents’ cards despite having options such as supplementary cards issued by their parents’ banks. Although these options provide access to digital payments, they’re not fundamentally designed for Gen Z, and that’s where we add value. We’re building Gen Z for Gen Z, and aim to grow our product as they grow, to be the only financial services platform they will ever need. The seed fund will help us focus on product, growth and strategic partnerships to accelerate our efforts in the UAE and Egypt markets, while preparing to launch in Saudi Arabia in early 2023.” — [email protected]
