Floatpays, a South African fintech startup has acquired a $1million investment from Naspers.
Speaking on the raise, Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa, South African CEO of Naspers, said, “We’re excited to invest in and support Floatpays in its aim to help people avoid debt and provide support to South Africans during these challenging economic times.
“Financial inclusion is important to us, being well-aligned with our purpose of using technology to improve people’s everyday lives, and our commitment to helping our country towards economic recovery.”
Founded in 2019 by Simon Ward, Floatpays was launched with the aim of helping employees get out of debts and vicious cycles of financial instability.
Today however, the company is backed by Silicon Valley’s Y-Combinator, Global Founders Capital and Kepple Africa Ventures among other heavyweight investors.
Floatpays offers on-demand access to help workers get their accrued pay and savings ahead of payday. Just three weeks ago, the company raised $4M in an oversubscribed seed round to expand through Africa. With this new funding, Floatpays will be able to hear through its goal at a turbo speed.
Simon Ward, Founder and CEO of Floatpays said: “We welcome the support of and partnership with Naspers Foundry that will enable us to fulfil our vision of enabling South Africans to achieve financial well-being.
“Floatpays provides much-needed access to funds to ordinary people and a growing suite of other financial services, fostering a more productive and healthier workforce with greater financial security.”
With Floatpays’ Earned Wage Access (EWA), employees are granted access to a portion of their earned income at any point in the pay cycle.
With Naspers being around since 1915 and through its early-stage tech investment vehicle, Naspers Foundry, the century-old company seeks to build leading companies that empower people and enrich communities.
Furthermore, Floatpays solution for employees can be accessed on smart and feature phones through an app on iOS, Android or by USSD.
