Riga-based digital banking startup Jeff App has topped the Sifted 30: Eastern Europe and the Baltics — while being the only Latvian startup on the ranking.
The newly launched Sifted 30: Eastern Europe and Baltics leaderboard, sponsored by Google for Startups, ranks 30 startups with the strongest revenue growth in the region over the past three financial years.
Vilnius-based Turing College, which offers online classes on data analytics and web development, places second on the ranking; Tallin-based Ringy, a marketplace for refurbished electronics, is third.
Jeff, the best in class, offers alternative credit scores for “underbanked” people in emerging economies. The company raised $2m in July, which will help its aim of expanding globally to countries like s India, Mexico and Indonesia.
“There are still plenty of places in the world where people have hardly any financial records and so can’t easily open bank accounts,” says cofounder Toms Niparts, who has spent half his year in Asia, meeting prospective clients.
Europe’s eastern risers
Estonian capital Tallinn is home to the most companies (14) in the top 30, followed by Lithuanian capital Vilnius with seven. EV charging software startup Ampeco (20th) and cybersecurity startup SoCyber (29th) are the only Bulgarian reps.
Fintech, with 10 companies, is the most dominant industry on the ranking; the next most represented are B2B SaaS (eight) and climate tech (six).
The 30 companies on the leaderboard have raised relatively small sums — €10.9m on average — and generated an average revenue of €3.22m in the latest financial year.
The VC Startup Wise Guys is the most active investor in startups that made this ranking, backing seven.
Eastern Europe’s 10 fastest-growing startups
- Jeff App — Uses data to create alternative credit scores for “underbanked” people in emerging economies
- Turing College — Online courses in data analytics and web development
- Ringy — Marketplace for refurbished electronics
- Spark Generation — Online high school courses
- Wallester — White-label card issuer
- Vok Bikes — Electric cargo bikes for business deliveries
- Montonio — E-commerce platform that helps online merchants accept payments and offer financing
- Torus — Helps banks and fintechs boost profits on card transactions
- Finqware — Helps automate the work of the CFO and finance team
- Enty — Offers invoice and contract management software
Sifted’s research team used their proprietary data to identify and contact relevant high-growth startups. Applications were accepted from July 15 to October 18.
To be eligible, companies had to meet the following criteria: headquartered in Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Georgia, Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania or Serbia; founded in or after 2014; maximum headcount of 999; private and independent; majority of revenue must be generated by proprietary technology; at least three years of revenue data; and revenue (annualised if necessary) of at least €25k in the base year (2020 or 2021) and at least €250k in the latest financial year (2022 or 2023). Companies were required to submit signed documentation to support disclosed financial information not publicly available.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/riga-fintech-jeff-app-startup-rank/
