South African fintech JUMO has launched Vela, an asset management engine built to give investors access to real social impact investments at the highest standards of governance and control.
Vela is underpinned by JUMO’s AI and machine learning capabilities that seek to democratise access to funding. The platform allocates multi-currency funds (US$ and crypto) to select portfolios, making it possible for qualifying investors to put money to work alongside pan-African banks and watch it perform in real-time.
“This is another important step for us in making our technology easier to access. Whilst there is growing worldwide demand for both ESG & crypto investing, it is often viewed as either too high-risk or as delivering lower returns than traditional investments. Vela gives investors access to the same, proven infrastructure that banks use to power their businesses, giving them more control and less risk whilst accessing investments with measurable impact.” Andrew Watkins-Ball, JUMO Founder and CEO, said.
Since 2015, JUMO’s bank partners have received impressively predictable returns as a result of JUMO’s AI and machine learning. Portfolio information is ingested in real-time to feed asset allocations and adjustments. Risk is diversified across more than 22 million individual loans per year, in six markets and across 13 products.
Vela is a powerful tool to facilitate both returns for investors and growth and inclusion. JUMO’s core customer base are the backbone of their economies and access to credit at low prices allows them to invest in their businesses and their communities. Entrepreneurs on the ground benefit from lower lending rates and convenience, while capital providers and investors are rewarded with returns. JUMO’s banking as a service platform has been built to meet the needs of each contributor to the ecosystem.
The launch of Vela follows JUMO’s US$120 million fundraise in November 2021 led by Fidelity Management & Research Company, LLC, Visa and Kingsway. The round has supported the scaling of JUMO’s platform capacity and brought JUMO’s total funding to c.US$200 million.
To date, the JUMO platform has been used to make 130 million loans, totalling $4 billion, to more than 20 million people and small businesses in Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Côte d’Ivoire.
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