The British fintech company Bloom Money has announced that it has managed to raise investment funds for 1 million pounds to digitize the informal financial management system used by ethnic communities around the world.
The Rotating Savings and Credit Association (ROSCA), a micro-credit system, depending on the region, has certain specifics, but in all cases, an informal association of people who are representatives of a particular community is assumed. Communities function as banks, carrying out activities to collect and save money. Participants of these financial systems can withdraw funds at the necessary moment.
Nina Mohanty, CEO of Bloom Money, stated that the purpose of the savings and credit association is to provide an alternative that allows consumers not to interact with the traditional spaces of the banking sector, within which, according to her, the practice of discrimination against ethnic minorities is widespread. She noted that this problem is particularly relevant to the British financial system.
Nina Mohanty says that ROSCA is a way to solve financial issues with people trusted by consumers. The goal of Bloom Money in the framework of interaction with this system is to digitize the space of actions with money, characterized by a greater degree of freedom compared to the traditional banking sector.
The daughter of two immigrants to the United States, Nina Mohanty says that she faced the problem of discrimination in the British financial sector. She noted that it is difficult for an immigrant in this country to create and maintain the material foundation of his existence in an acceptable configuration.
Dan James, co-founder and technical director of Bloom Money, said that he believes in the potential of ROSCA, noting that he had the opportunity to personally verify the high level of efficiency of this financial system. He stressed that this platform will benefit those who enter the UK and those who historically receive fewer services in the traditional banking sector.
The company intends to use the received investment funds to work on the creation of digital savings functions protected by the institution of electronic money. The funding round was attended by Zinal Growth, January Ventures, Pact VC, and investors Berenice Magistretti and June Angelides.
Bloom Money allows to creation of groups, known as Bloom Circles, within which consumers can share money and save funds. These groups also provide educational materials that are a guide to life in the UK and explain issues such as obtaining a driver’s license, creating a trust fund, and using credit points.
Nina Mohanty says that in the process of communicating with investors, the most difficult aspect was explaining that the company focuses on low-service communities. She noted that many prejudices had to be overcome before the concept of the company’s activities was understood by the funding sources.
As we have reported earlier, Numarics Raises €10 Million to Offer Small Businesses All-in-One Digital CFO Solution.
