Singapore- and Vietnam-based early-stage investment platform CrossFund has raised US$1.5 million in fresh funding from undisclosed investors at a US$47 million valuation.
The fintech startup will use the funds to expand its presence in EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa), where 40 per cent of its 15,000 accredited investors are based.
Founded in 2021 by Ben Cardarelli and Davide Cali, CrossFund is an equity financing tool for early-stage startups in Southeast Asia and Africa. Investors can own equity in international startups with as little as US$5,000.
CrossFund leverages data to match its investors with startups based on sector, stage, geography, areas of expertise, and other more granular factors. The platform also accepts investments in crypto, leveraging third-party providers. It is soon launching a secondary market to foster liquidity for investors and founders.
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The firm claims over US$40 million was raised across 80 investments. Its portfolio also includes Clever (APAC), Vulcan (Vietnam), Lipa Later (Kenya), Styched (India), beU (Ethiopia), and Swag Kicks (Pakistan).
CrossFund also has an exit to its credit (Hong Kong-based Edugo, which raised a funding round led by CrossFund, was acquired in June by Nasdaq-listed Docebo).
“Having spent the past ten years in Asia, SEA was our natural birthplace and we quickly built a strong base of investors and startups here,” said Cardarelli.
“Demographically, these markets we are in – like Indonesia, India, Vietnam, and Philippines – have extremely large populations, a young, tech-savvy workforce, low labor costs, and an emerging middle class. Entrepreneurship and angel investing is still at its nascent stage in many of these markets, but on the rise. Our vision has always been to invest early in local founders and give people access to valuable startup equity in the economies of the future,” he added.
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The image used in this article is AI-generated.
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