ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Layer3, Sidekick, Elevate, Sahl, and more

At FinTech Futures, we know that it can be easy to let funding announcements slip you by in this fast-paced industry. That’s why we put together our weekly In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) funding round-up for you to get the latest funding news.

Layer3 lands $15 million

Layer3, a US-based Web3 user acquisition and retention solution, has bagged a $15 million Series A funding round co-led by ParaFi and Greenfield Capital.

The round saw support from a collection of firms such as Amber, Stateless, Electric Capital, King River, Immutable, Lattice, Tioga, GD1 and LeadBlock Bitpanda Ventures.

The company is expected to leverage the new funding to launch an AI-enabled protocol for optimising distribution strategies later this year.

The firm also revealed that it raised a previously unannounced strategic round of $3.7 million from ThirdPrime, ParaFi, Electric, Lattice, and Sandeep Nailwal in 2022, following a $2.5 million round in 2021, bringing total funds raised to $21.2 million.

Polish fintech Wealthon, which offers financial assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), has landed debt financing of PLN 50 million ($12.3 million) from funds managed by CVI Dom Maklerski.

The new funds have been earmarked to develop financial products and scale up the business, with a particular focus on the e-commerce sector.

Aleksander Majchrzak, CEO of Wealthon, says that the financing will enable the firm to “further enhance the quality of our products”.

Hinting at the company’s future plans, he adds: “We are finalising the implementation of a comprehensive ecosystem of tools and services, which will be a unique solution on the Polish market.”

Sidekick bags £8.5 million investment

UK-based wealth management platform Sidekick has secured £8.5 million, which includes a £4.5 million seed round and a £4 million debt facility, to finance a new Portfolio Line of Credit solution.

The seed round was co-led by TheVentureCity and Pact VC, and saw additional backing from Blackwood, MS&AD and 1818, alongside previous investors Seedcamp, Semantic Ventures and Octopus Ventures.

Venture capital firm Columbia Lake Partners, which provides growth loans to European tech companies, supplied the debt financing.

In addition to the new credit offering, the cash injection will be utilised to support the firm’s licensing ambitions in Europe, propel the firm’s client expansion, and drive further product development.

These funds add to the £3.3 million raised by Sidekick during a pre-seed round in 2022.

Irish digital paytech CleverCards has completed an €8 million funding round, bringing the total capital raised to date by the enterprise to €28 million.

The round was spearheaded by Pluxee, a French firm specialising in employee benefits and engagement, along with additional support from CleverCards’ existing investors.

Kealan Lennon, CEO and founder of CleverCards, says Pluxee’s investment is a “significant endorsement of our vision and strategy as we push forward in our mission to transform digital payments globally”.

The Dublin-headquartered card issuer states the new funds will be used to further the development of its embedded finance platform and expand the firm’s market reach.

Sahl bags $6 million

Sahl, an Egyptian start-up, has raised $6 million in a mix of Series A and seed funding led by Egyptian investment firm Ayady.

The investment round was also supported by the firm’s existing investors E-Finance, Egypt Pay and Delta Electronic Systems.

Sahl says it will utilise the financing to “refine and develop” new offerings, with a focus on a “frictionless, time-saving, and secure user experience”.

Founded in 2020, Sahl claims to serve over 12 million customers monthly and reach 15 million households in Egypt through its utilities payment platform.

The company’s app enables users to access a range of bill payment services for utilities like gas, electricity and water, alongside tuition fees, television subscriptions and more.

Going forward, Sahl intends to expand its regional footprint, and having launched in the UAE, the firm now plans to establish offices in Saudi Arabia.

Elevate lands $5 million

London and Dubai-based consumer fintech Elevate has raised $5 million in debt and equity during a pre-Series A round from Dubai-headquartered investment fund Negma Group.

According to a report by TechCrunch, the company has earmarked the new funds to drive its international expansion into markets like South Africa, Indonesia and Turkey.

Through a partnership with its sponsor bank, Bangor Savings Bank, Elevate says it can provide US-based banking services to non-US residents.

The firm claims to be the only company which can offer individuals in Bangladesh, Egypt, Pakistan and the Philippines an FDIC-insured US bank account.

Khalid Keenan, CEO of Elevate, states that the enterprise’s mission is “for freelancers and remote workers to quickly and easily get paid at minimal cost so they keep as much of their hard earned earnings as possible”.

San Francisco-based start-up InScope has officially launched its financial reporting solution after successfully concluding a $4.3 million seed round.

Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round, which saw additional participation from a group of industry founders and executives, including Vipul Ved Prakash, founder and CEO of Together AI; Jake Heller, founder and CEO of Casetext; and Nadia Asoyan, CFO at Strike, among others.

InScope leverages GenAI and large language models (LLMs) to automate financial reporting and auditing processes for accounting teams.

In an interview with TechCrunch, founders Kelsey Gootnick and Mary Antony stated their intention to utilise the financing to grow the firm’s workforce, scale their products, and strengthen their AI capabilities. Moreover, the pair plans to expand their customer base to 50 companies by the end of 2024.

Indian lendtech CredAble has bagged INR 30 crores ($3.5 million) in debt funding from Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).

The company intends to use the cash injection to scale up its operations and provide accessible financing solutions to female-driven businesses and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in India.

Established in 2017, CredAble, which claims to be India’s largest working capital tech platform, offers traditional banking and loan products.

Additionally, the firm has developed a working capital infrastructure for “digitising corporate-led financing and underwriting needs”.