Fido
“Can an AI-scoring digital lender become the primary financial platform for Africa's unbanked by using mobile-money and behavioural data to underwrite credit and then layer on payments and savings?”
Founded2015
HQAccra, Ghana
FoundersNadav Topolski, Tomer Edry, Nir Zepkowitz
Total raised$68M
Latest roundSeries B, 2024
IndustryFintech / Lending
The story
Founded in 2015 in Ghana by Israeli entrepreneurs, Fido started as a pure digital micro-lender scoring applicants on mobile money and airtime data rather than traditional credit history. By 2022 it began broadening beyond credit into payments (bill pay, airtime top-up) and savings, positioning itself as a fuller financial platform for Africa's underbanked. The 2024 Series B with development-finance institution backers signals a push into East and Southern Africa and a deeper AI-scoring-led financial-inclusion thesis.
Product timeline
2015
Launched in Ghana by three Israeli entrepreneurs offering instant micro-loans scored on mobile money and airtime usage data.· lending
2022
Raised $30M Series A led by Fortissimo Capital; announced plans to add savings and payment products and expand to Uganda.· lending
2022
Expanded into Uganda as second market.· pivot
2023
Introduced Fido Score — an AI-powered credit risk model for customers with no formal financial track record.· lending
2024
Raised $30M Series B (equity + debt) led by BlueOrchard and FMO to expand across East and Southern Africa.· lending
2024
Launched payments products (airtime top-up, data bundles, bill payments) via Hubtel/FAWC partnership embedded in the Fido App.· banking
Regulated entities
1
regulatory licence held by Fido
Licence types, jurisdictions and registered entities are in the Embedded Finance Index report.
The stack
1 layer disclosed in Fido’s embedded-finance stack
Lending
Fido Credit (personal instant micro-loan)FidoBiz Business LoanBuy Now Pay Later (marketplace)
Accounting gap: minor