wamo, a leading digital business account provider for SMEs, announcesd that it has secured a bridge to Series A round of €4.5 million in growth funding, as well as an EU Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from FIN-FSA (Finland’s Financial Supervisory Authority), positioning the company for accelerated growth across Europe.
Joining the round as a new investor is Turkish VC firm Logo Ventures, along with returning investors Finberg, the corporate venture investment division of Turkish bank Fibabank, and Re-Pie Asset Management, underscoring strong market confidence in wamo’s potential and its innovative SME solutions. The latest round sees wamo’s total funding reach $11.8 million.
With 300% YoY revenue growth and over €2.5 billion transactions processed since its inception in 2021, wamo aims to leverage the funding to enhance its digital business account offering as it continues to deliver on its ambition of being the growth partner of choice for SMEs across Europe. wamo’s mission is to break down the barriers that SMEs face when growing their business in the EU and UK.
In a world where SMEs are underserved by banks, wamo provides access to a digital business account within 24 hours and human-led customer support to make managing their money easy. wamo provides a range of integrated services to customers, including cross-border payments and physical and virtual cards, with plans to expand this further to create a full-suite solution for SMEs. The investment will also allow wamo to both expand its talented team across the UK and EU and deepen its local expertise within key markets.
Merve Zabci, Managing Partner at Logo Ventures, added: “We first met Yanki in 2021 and have been closely following wamo’s progress over the years and are excited to support the team on their next chapter. wamo has a deep understanding of the needs of SMEs and is laser focused on driving real value by offering better and faster service for its customers.”
In tandem with the funding, wamo has obtained an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license in the EU from the FIN-FSA Finland Financial Supervisory Authority. The EMI license will enable wamo to minimise partner dependencies, enhance its customer experience and accelerate entry into new markets including Finland, Italy and Sweden. Approval from FIN-FSA will allow wamo to tap into the Nordic market opportunity and further expand its reach from Europe’s north and south as part of its wider pan-European growth strategy. The move builds on wamo’s already strong presence in its home markets of the UK and Malta, and growth across Finland.
Yanki Onen, CEO and founder of wamo, commented: “Since launching wamo, we’ve been relentlessly focused on removing the barriers that SMEs face when opening a business account and managing their finances. The addition of Logo Ventures in this round brings strong expertise and experience to help us build a proposition that promotes, not discourages, the ambitions of underserved SMEs across Europe. Alongside this, our EMI license marks a significant milestone in our journey, enabling us to unlock new markets and become the preferred partner for SMEs, providing regulated services across the continent.”
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2024/07/london-based-wamo-snaps-e4-5-million-to-expand-digital-business-accounts-for-underserved-smes/
