INTERNATIONAL - A Zurich-based fintech firm whose investors include Josef Ackermann has raised additional money to value the company at more than $1 billion (R15.24bn) as it prepares to expand outside its main market of Germany.
Numbrs Personal Finance raised $40 million to bring the total capital invested to almost $200m, chief executive Martin Saidler said.
Numbrs offers an app that enables users to manage their existing bank accounts in one place and to buy financial products.
The company has become a so-called unicorn by focusing mostly on private investors. “Venture capital and private equity funds tend to have less patience.
They get nervous when it takes longer for a start-up to earn money,” Saidler said. Investment Corporation of Dubai, which invested in 2017, is an exception, he said. In total, more then 50 individuals and families are invested in the company. Existing and new investors took part in the latest funding, Saidler said, while declining to name any.
The company previously identified former Deutsche Bank head Ackermann and private banker Pierre Mirabaud as stakeholders. Numbrs is not profitable yet, though it aims to break even in two years, Saidler said.
The fintech firm launched its app in 2014 in Germany and, starting next year, Numbrs aims to establish Britain as its second main market. “After that, we want to expand to other European countries,” Saidler said. He has no plans for a launch in the US.