London-headquartered wamo, a digital business account provider for SMEs, has secured $5 million in growth funding. The startup has also received EU Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence from FIN-FSA (Finland’s Financial Supervisory Authority), positioning the company for accelerated growth across Europe.
Who invested in wamo?
The investment saw participation of a new investor – a Turkish VC firm Logo Ventures, along with returning investors Finberg, the corporate venture investment division of Turkish bank Fibabank and Re-Pie Asset Management. With this latest round, wamo’s total funding reached $11.8 million.
How will it use the investment?
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.
The investment will also allow the company 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.”
What does wamo do?
In a world where SMEs are underserved by banks, wamo, founded by Yanki Onen in 2021, provides access to a digital business account within 24 hours and human-led customer support to make managing their money easy. It 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.
Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence
The EMI licence will enable wamo to minimise partner dependencies, enhance its customer experience and accelerate entry into new markets including Finland, Italy and Sweden.
The approval from FIN-FSA will allow it 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.
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 licence 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.”
What do we think about wamo?
The company is poised for substantial growth with its $5 million funding and newly acquired EU Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence.
Focused on serving SMEs with quick access to digital business accounts and comprehensive financial services, it aims to expand its team and enhance its offerings across Europe. With strategic backing from investors and a commitment to addressing SME needs, wamo is set to become a leading financial partner for small businesses across the continent.
