In its latest move beyond ride-hailing, Southeast Asia’s Grab has started to offer financing to SMEs and micro-insurance to its drivers. The launch comes just weeks after Grab raised $1.5 billion from the Vision Fund as part of a larger $5 billion Series H funding round that’ll be used to battle rival Go-Jek, which is […]
View More Grab launches SME loans and micro-insurance in Southeast AsiaCategory: finance
South Africa’s FlexClub raises $1.2M, partners with Uber Mexico
FlexClub, a South African startup that matches investors and drivers to cars for ride-hailing services, closed a $1.2 million seed round led by CRE Venture Capital. The company will use the financing to add team members and expand off the continent through a partnership with Uber Mexico. The move comes as Africa’s tech-transit space continues […]
View More South Africa’s FlexClub raises $1.2M, partners with Uber MexicoTargeting payday lenders, Branch adds pay on-demand features for hourly workers
Branch, the scheduling and pay management app for hourly workers, has added a new pay-on-demand service called Pay, which is now available to anyone who downloads the Branch app. It’s an attempt to provide a fee-based alternative to payday lending, where borrowers charge exorbitant rates to lenders on short term loans or cash advances. Borrowers […]
View More Targeting payday lenders, Branch adds pay on-demand features for hourly workersLyft sets $62-68 price range for its IPO to raise $2B, will trade as LYFT on Nasdaq
Ride-sharing startup Lyft this morning announced that it is kicking off the roadshow for its IPO — setting the clock ticking for its IPO likely in around two weeks. Around that, it also filled in some more details. The stock will trade as “LYFT” on Nasdaq and the IPO range is currently set for between […]
View More Lyft sets $62-68 price range for its IPO to raise $2B, will trade as LYFT on NasdaqStartups Weekly: Uber’s headline-grabbing week and sextech at SXSW
In this week’s newsletter: The college admissions scandal engulfs TPG, Accel raises $2.5B for three funds and investing app Stash brings in $65M.
View More Startups Weekly: Uber’s headline-grabbing week and sextech at SXSWZeus raises $24M to make you a living-as-a-service landlord
Cookie-cutter corporate housing turns people into worker drones. When an employee needs to move to a new city for a few months, they’re either stuck in bland, giant apartment complexes or Airbnbs meant for shorter stays. But Zeus lets any homeowner get paid to host white-collar transient labor. Through its managed ownership model, Zeus takes […]
View More Zeus raises $24M to make you a living-as-a-service landlordPi Day wasn’t pleasant for a lot of tech execs
Pi Day is apparently New Job day for tech execs and VCs these days. Leaving: Lee Fixel It’s not every day that one of the top VC investors heads out from their shop. TechCrunch’s @cookie aka Connie Loizos has the story: Lee Fixel, the low-flying head of Tiger Global’s private equity business, is leaving at […]
View More Pi Day wasn’t pleasant for a lot of tech execsThe meaning of Nginx and F5
F5 Networks took a dive yesterday after the company announced it was acquiring open-source web server NGINX. While media coverage of the deal was largely positive, the public markets appeared much more skeptical, as F5 stock finished the day down nearly 8%. As most analyses noted, the logic behind the deal is clear. F5’s existing […]
View More The meaning of Nginx and F5CXA, a health-focused digital insurance startup, raises $25M
CXA Group, a Singapore-based startup that helps make insurance more accessible and affordable, has raised $25 million for expansion in Asia and later into Europe and North America. The startup takes a unique route to insurance. Rather than going to consumers directly, it taps corporations to offer their employees health flexible options. That’s to say […]
View More CXA, a health-focused digital insurance startup, raises $25MGoalsetter gives parents a way to teach their kids how to save money
When the bubble burst in the year 2000, Tanya Van Court lost over $1 million in stock and options over the course of a few minutes. Then and there she vowed to never let something like that happen to her children. Five years later, her daughter Gabrielle was born. At the time, she was a […]
View More Goalsetter gives parents a way to teach their kids how to save moneyInvesting app Stash raises $65M, launches banking and ‘stock-back’ rewards with Green Dot
Stash, the fintech startup and app that aims to introduce new people to the world of investing, is unveiling some interesting new services while also announcing that it has raised more funding to expand its business. The company is introducing mobile-based banking accounts from Green Dot Bank; and alongside it, a new rewards program it […]
View More Investing app Stash raises $65M, launches banking and ‘stock-back’ rewards with Green DotPayPal to invest $750M, and Dragoneer $100M into MercadoLibre, Argentina’s e-commerce powerhouse
It’s not only SoftBank that’s eyeing up the opportunity to tap into the quickly expanding market for e-commerce in Latin America. MercadoLibre, a marketplace and financial services powerhouse based out of Argentina and serving 18 countries across the region, has announced that PayPal is investing $750 million, and VC Dragoneer another $100 million, as part of […]
View More PayPal to invest $750M, and Dragoneer $100M into MercadoLibre, Argentina’s e-commerce powerhouse