Lucy, a neobank focused on women entrepreneurs, has secured an undisclosed amount in seed financing from Hong Kong-based global investment firm EmergeVest at a US$10 million valuation.
As per a statement, this deal will help Lucy refine its tech platform, round out the team in Singapore, and pilot in the local market before expanding regionally through strategic partnerships.
Before this round, Lucy secured US$450,000 in a women-only round of 21 diverse women, including Sephora Asia MD Hanh Nguyen and a number of other high-profile women from the region and the world.
Also Read: Why neobanks are better than digital banks
The initial funding came from Lucy’s co-founders Debbie Watkins (former MD of Fern Software APMEA), Hal Bosher (former CEO of Yoma Bank and Chairman of Wave Money), and Luke Janssen (former CEO and Chairman of Tigerspike), besides the Savearth fund.
Through her over 20 years working with underserved communities, Debbie saw first-hand that women were a financially excluded group. However, Hal’s experience with his customers at Yoma proved that women were great customers. So the duo decided to set up Lucy, a neobank and community focused on women entrepreneurs.
The app helps women entrepreneurs set up, run and grow their businesses, with affordable financial services including fee-free accounts with Mastercard, no-interest salary advances, savings accounts, loan management, and low-cost remittances.
Lucy also offers a community-based platform for women to connect with their peers and mentors for inspiration, support, e-training modules, and a networking marketplace.
The startup will focus on two underserved groups of women entrepreneurs for its pilot launch in Singapore. They are 1) home-based entrepreneurs or women with a ‘side hustle’, and 2) domestic helpers, many of whom run small businesses in their home countries.
The second category will help it drive expansion to nearby markets of Indonesia, the Philippines and Myanmar (Lucy has recently won a UNCDF grant to help support low-cost remittances to these countries). A recent study noted that the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam have the highest prospects in Asia for neobank.
Also Read: Neobanks: the future of banking?
Formed in 2013, EmergeVest is an investment firm with US$500 million in assets under management. It invests across the capital structure at the intersection of the supply chain, technology and financial services.
A pre-pandemic analysis conducted by Boston Consulting Group showed that if women and men worldwide participated equally as entrepreneurs, the global economy would get a boost of US$2.5-5 trillion. Post-COVID, the need to support women entrepreneurs is even greater.
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Image Credit: Lucy
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