YMO, a fintech startup in Guinea, has closed a €3 million seed round in February. Several venture capital funds, including Breega and INCO Ventures, took part in the round.
The startup becomes one of the first Guinean start-ups to raise such an amount from investment funds.
“Breega, a pan-European venture capital fund dedicated to high-impact start-ups, is proud to support YMO in the deployment of its services and supports this promising young African start-up. We are convinced of the essential role played by Fintechs, in particular in creating added value and addressing the weaknesses of banking and the financial system in Africa. The support provided to YMO is part of this approach, that of strengthening its positioning in the market and being a key player in West Africa“, says Ben Marrel, CEO and one of the co-founders of Breega.
“With the goal of banking as many people as possible, YMO is part of the worthy lineage of impact Fintechs. INCO Ventures is proud to drive this new African champion that combines ambition and financial inclusion,” added Carole Cazassus, Chief Investment Officer, INCO Ventures.
Founded in 2019 by Abdoulaye Barry, YMO started by offering an instant mobile payment service between France and Guinea. In October 2022, following obtaining its authorization as an electronic money issuer from the Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea, the start-up successfully launched its local payment service.
To date, YMO has attracted nearly one million users. With smartphone penetration in Africa expected to reach 70% in 2024 and mobile money transactions to increase sharply, YMO’s services are set to expand throughout West Africa, reaching African populations wherever they are.
In addition to expansion, YMO plans to strengthen its Tech and Compliance workforce. The young start-up aims to recruit around twenty new employees to expand its R&D team (developers, data scientists, UX designers, project managers), but also its compliance department in Europe and Africa.
“This fundraising will allow us to continue our development on a sound basis. We intend to build a sustainable business, which meets real needs and substantially improves the lives of our customers. With the ambition to transform the daily lives of more than a billion people in Africa, the support of Breega and INCO Ventures reinforces our determination to build, together, an African champion of digital finance. All our thanks go to those who accompany the key stages of this project“, concludes Abdoulaye Barry, founder and CEO of YMO.
YMO, a financial inclusion solution for African populations on the African continent as well as the diaspora of France and Europe, was born in 2019. Based on the observation that millions of people are now excluded from the financial system, YMO, a 100% digital solution, has made it its mission to revolutionize their daily lives by using technology for money transfers and everyday payments.
