Fintech startup, CowryWise has been selected as one of the 50 winners of Kairos K50 Tech Summit held late November in New York.
K50 is an initiative of Kairos, an early stage venture capital firm based in New York. Kairos K50 is held yearly to help the firm identify transformative companies based in different parts of the world.
The summit provides thousands of startups from around the world an opportunity to showcase their innovations and solutions for some of the world’s biggest problems.
From the pool of participants, few are selected after the conference each year as K50 cohorts. Each selected startup gets funding of up to $50,000, access to the Kairos business ecosystem and plenty of media exposure.
This year, out of about 2,500 early stage startups from 65 countries, 50 startups have been selected to join the K50.
And Nigeria-based CowryWise made the list!
This news signifies another breakthrough achievement for CowryWise which has only been in operation for a little over 12 months.
The fintech startup developed an app that makes it easy for everyday people to save money. Using its automation system, the app saves money on behalf of users for a period of time (which the user specifies). But unlike many other savings platform, CowryWise savers actually get to earn interests on their savings. This is possible because the platform invests in less risky assets like Treasury bills and bonds.
Interest figures vary depending on the amount being saved and the duration. But by July 2018, the startup had helped users save as much as $1.5 million.
This feat is a major reason the startup has gained investor attention quickly.
In July 2018, the startup raised around $50,000 from early stage venture firm, Microtraction.
And in the same month, it was selected as a cohort for the YCombinator accelerator program, raising $120,000 in the process.
The recent Kairos K50 selection further bolsters an already bulging reputation. As a member, CowryWise not only gets funding and industry access, it also gets the chance to be mentored by some big names.
For instance, Amazon’s CTO, Werner Vogels and former CIA Director, Mike Hayden are two individuals available to provide mentoring and support.
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