The Catalyst Fund has gained $15 million from JP Morgan and UK Aid as a means to support and back 30 fintech startups in Africa, Asia, and Latin America in the next three years.
Catalyst Fund, a Boston based accelerator, provides mentorship and non-equity funding to early-stage tech ventures that are primarily focused on driving financial inclusion in emerging and frontier markets. The purpose is to connect people who may not have access to basic financial services — like a bank account, credit or lending options — to those products.
The Fund will choose an annual cohort of 10 fintech startups in five emerging markets: Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, India and Mexico. The selected ones will gain grant-funds and go through a six-month accelerator program.
“We’re offering grants of up to $100,000 to early-stage companies, plus venture building support…and really…putting these companies on a path to product market fit,” Catalyst Fund Director Maelis Carraro told TechCrunch.
Program participants gain exposure to the fund’s investor networks and investor advisory committee, that include Accion and 500 Startups. With the $15 million, Catalyst Fund will also make some additions to its network of global partners that support the accelerator program. Names will be forthcoming, but Carraro, was able to disclose that India’s Yes Bank and University of Cambridge are among them.
Catalyst fund has already backed 25 startups through its program. In the fund’s most recent cohort, five out of six fintech ventures — Pesakit, Kwara, Cowrywise, Meerkat and Spoon — are African and one, agtech credit startup Farmart, operates in India.
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