Asaak, a Ugandan asset financing startup has announced a $30 million pre-Series A equity and debt funding round, with new and existing investors such as Resolute Ventures, Social Capital, HOF Capital, Founders Factory Africa, End Poverty Make Trillions, Decentralized VC, and a number of angel investors participating.
The Ugandan fintech firm provides motor finance to operators who are frequently turned down by traditional banks because to tight laws and regulations based on revenue history and account activity.
“Asaak is enabling mobility-based work, which literally propels the economy forward and promotes upward mobility for these individuals,” Asaak co-founder and chief business officer Dylan Terrill told the media. The lifeline of Africa is the bodaboda, which transports people and goods from home to school and work. They simply require access to motorcycles, which will give them with improved economic options and enable them to support their families.” Anthony Leontiev, Edward Egwalu, and Kaivan Sattar are some of the other founding members.
Asaak intends to build a borrower credit score using rider data from the platform, and users can apply through the app or visit the branches to see if they qualify for financing.
The company also collaborates with mobility and e-commerce platforms to make motorbike ownership more accessible to riders, particularly those who make a living as motorcycle taxi drivers (bodaboda).
So far, over $1500 in credit has been provided, with interest rates ranging from 1% to 4% depending on credit score.
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