Fintech PR

Open Wealth Platform Flanks secures an $ 8m Series A round led by Earlybird

Published

1 year ago

October 18, 2023

BARCELONA, Spain, Oct. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Flanks, an API for automated wealth services, has secured $ 8m in a Series A round led by Earlybird Venture Capital, and followed by the existing investors JME Ventures and 4Founders Capital. Raffaele Terrone, Co-Founder of the Italian FinTech unicorn Scalapay, and Martin Kassing, Co-Founder and CEO of Upvest, supported the round as angels.

By digitizing and aggregating global wealth data across custodians into a single API, Flanks redefines the way financial information is shared within the global wealth management market. Flanks has built a fully automated data stream to hundreds of custodians globally, allowing a 360° view of one’s investment portfolio in real-time. Based on the powerful API layer for global wealth data, Flanks helps its clients to improve wealth services at scale.

The startup plans to tap into further parts of the wealth management value chain, i.e. through automating manual processes (from profiling, reporting, to investment memorandums), and by adding algorithms for intelligent alerts and investment decisions. Flanks empowers wealth managers and advisors of all kinds — including banks, family offices, asset managers and financial advisors. By helping to create better user experiences for their investor base, Flanks ultimately democratizes wealth services to reach the broader masses of affluent investors.

The team around two software engineers, Joaquim de la Cruz and Sergi Lao, and joined by the private banking executive Álvaro Morales, envisions making Flanks the standard for wealth services, and leveraging their global data layer for intelligent investment decisions.

This vision will be fueled by a regulatory shift where Europe is at the forefront. Following the trend of Open Banking (PSD2 and the proposed PSD3 regulation), the EU put forward a framework for Open Finance more broadly (FIDA regulation), establishing clear rights and obligations to manage financial data access beyond payment accounts. Customers maintain full control over who accesses their data and for what purpose (in line with GDPR), while financial institutions are obliged to make customer data available. Moreover, MiFID III will likely come into force, intensifying the need for financial advisors to know the global investment position of their clients.

The Barcelona-based company became the market leader in Spain and France, growing its revenues by over 4x over the past twelve months. The Series A funding will help the team further internationalize and boost their product vision.

Joaquim de la Cruz, CEO of Flanks, shared his excitement: “This funding round will allow Flanks to accelerate the disruption process already underway in the wealth management sector. We have an exceptional team, and are excited about the opportunities that the future holds.”

Álvaro Morales, Chief Strategy Officer of Flanks and former Global Head of Private Banking of Banco Santander, added: “Up until now, many financial advisors did their job without knowing the global asset allocation of their customers. The upcoming MiFID III regulation will likely require more detailed attention to the investor’s pre-existing wealth prior to giving financial advice. The technology offered by Flanks, powered by this funding round, is going to transform the interaction between financial advisors and customers.”

Tim Rehder, Partner at Earlybird, says: “The opportunity for Open Wealth is building the foundation for automation and intelligence in the wealth management sector. Flanks is perfectly positioned to become the de facto standard for various B2B partners who transact with the implied customer data. We were impressed by the current impact that Flanks has on its customers, as well as by the founders’ deep industry knowledge, technical depth, and vision. We can’t wait to work with the entire Flanks team!”

About Flanks

The Open Wealth Platform Flanks was founded out of Barcelona in 2019, by the two software engineers Joaquim de la Cruz and Sergi Lao, joined by the private banking executive Álvaro Morales. Flanks is actively present in ten countries. The company serves clients from large financial institutions to family offices and independent financial advisors.

Flanks is compatible with more than 300 banks internationally and aggregates more than half a million investment portfolios monthly. The company has developed embedded and customizable solutions covering the entire value chain of the wealth management industry.

For more information on Flanks, please visit their website on the following link.

About Earlybird

Earlybird Venture Capital focuses on European technology companies. Founded in 1997, Earlybird identifies and backs exceptional early-stage companies on a pan-European basis and supports them through their growth and development phases – providing financial resources, strategic support, plus access to an international network and capital markets. Earlybird invests out of a family of independently-managed funds. Flagship funds with early-stage focus include Digital West (Western Europe), Digital East (Emerging Europe), and Health. Newer funds Earlybird-X (pre-seed in Western Europe & university spinoffs) and Growth Opportunities (a pan-Earlybird growth fund) offer even more agility. With EUR 2 billion under management across all fund streams, 9 IPOs, and 31 trade sales, Earlybird is one of Europe’s most established and active venture capital firms.

More information on www.earlybird.com, LinkedIn and Twitter.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/open-wealth-platform-flanks-secures-an–8m-series-a-round-led-by-earlybird-301955168.html

Fintech PR

Wahed appoints Khalid Al Jassim as Executive Chairman of Wahed MENA to help guide the strategic growth of Wahed in the region

Published

19 hours ago

November 24, 2024

CISION (PR Newswire)

wahed-appoints-khalid-al-jassim-as-executive-chairman-of-wahed-mena-to-help-guide-the-strategic-growth-of-wahed-in-the-region

DOHA, Qatar, Nov. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Wahed, a global Shariah-compliant fintech, has appointed Khalid Al Jassim as Chairman of Wahed MENA.

On this appointment, Khalid commented, ”I am excited to guide Wahed’s growth in the region. Wahed’s mission of furthering Islamic Finance is one I resonate with deeply and I look forward to supporting its growth ambitions.”

Khalid has over twenty five years of investment banking and corporate advisory experience gained with some of the most innovative and groundbreaking institutions in the world.

His career spans leading firms including SABIC, Arthur Anderson and Arcapita Bank in Bahrain, where he was instrumental in making it into one of the PE powerhouses in the region. His responsibilities started in the earlier years with establishing the Investment Placement Team and transforming it into one of the most robust teams in the industry. At the time that Khalid left Arcapita to build his personal business, he was an Executive Director. Today he is Chairman of Afkar Vision, a private advisory house specialized in mergers and acquisitions with offices in Manama, Dubai and Riyadh.

As well as being one of the earliest investors in Wahed, he is currently Chairman of the Audit Committee and Board Member at Bahrain Islamic Bank, the 4th oldest Islamic Bank in the World and Board Member at SICO Bank and SICO Capital in Saudi, an $8bn asset manager in the region.

Mohsin Siddiqui, Wahed CEO said, “We are delighted to announce Khalid’s appointment. His unique understanding of the financial landscape in the MENA region is unparalleled and we are excited to bring this expertise in continuing to grow our presence in the region.”

About Wahed

Founded in 2015, Wahed is a financial technology company that is advancing financial inclusion through accessible, affordable, and values-based investing. The company has made significant inroads in the world Shariah compliant investing by creating an easy-to-use digital platform that provides a suite of Shariah compliant investing products including managed portfolios and venture and real estate investments. Wahed caters to over 400,000 customers globally and manages over $ 1 billion in assets.

For more information, visit: www.wahed.com

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2566076/Wahed_MENA_Khalid_Al_Jassim.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/wahed-appoints-khalid-al-jassim-as-executive-chairman-of-wahed-mena-to-help-guide-the-strategic-growth-of-wahed-in-the-region-302314779.html

Fintech PR

Qatar Development Bank announces strategic investment in global Islamic FinTech, Wahed

Published

19 hours ago

November 24, 2024

CISION (PR Newswire)

qatar-development-bank-announces-strategic-investment-in-global-islamic-fintech,-wahed

DOHA, Qatar, Nov. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Qatar Development Bank (QDB) announces a strategic investment in Wahed, a global Shariah-compliant fintech.

Wahed currently manages over $1 billion in assets and has attracted over 400,000 clients worldwide. The company is built on the principles of democratizing access to financial services and offers clients access to Shariah-compliant investments in its mobile app. Wahed removes the barriers to sophisticated investment management services that have been traditionally reserved for high-net-worth investors.

Khalid Al Jassim, Executive Chairman of Wahed MENA said: ‘We are delighted to welcome our new shareholders, QDB. We believe Qatar is fully aligned with our mission in creating a technology-first Islamic finance leader that unlocks a financial ecosystem free from Riba. We look forward to supporting the Qatar National Vision 2030 of becoming a leading knowledge-based economy.

Ali Rahimtula, Partner at Cue Ball Capital said: “Qatar Development Bank’s strategic investment is a clear signal of the faith the industry has in Wahed and its ability to create the future of Islamic Finance.”

About Wahed

For more information, visit: www.wahed.com

About Qatar Development Bank

Qatar Development Bank’s mission is to advance the economic and innovation development cycle of Qatar, supporting and contributing to the nation’s economic diversification. As well as a focus on the development of Qatar’s private sector, QDB is a powerful catalyst for socio-economic development in the country, empowering the local economy and bettering living standards.

For more information, visit: https://www.qdb.qa/

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2566075/Qatar_Development_Bank_Announcement.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/qatar-development-bank-announces-strategic-investment-in-global-islamic-fintech-wahed-302314778.html

Fintech PR

China’s AIMA brand electric motorbike is now in Bangladesh

Published

1 day ago

November 23, 2024

CISION (PR Newswire)

DHAKA, Bangladesh, Nov. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — With the popularity of electric vehicles in Bangladesh, the globally renowned AIMA brand has also arrived in Bangladesh. The esteemed DX Group has brought the AIMA F-626 to customers. This environmentally friendly battery-operated electric motorbike has already been approved by the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) now.

In light of the increasing popularity of electric motorcycles in the country, the internationally-leading brand AIMA has entered the market. By the end of 2023, AIMA electric two-wheelers had established a presence in over 50 countries worldwide, with 11 global production bases, including overseas factories in Indonesia and Vietnam. In 2022, AIMA collaborated with Rob Janoff, the designer of the Apple logo, to refresh the brand’s VI system with a youthful and fashionable image. In 2023, AIMA teamed up with PANTONE, the global authority in color expertise, to create the trending color of the year. As an industry leader, AIMA spearheads the electric two-wheeler sector and showcases the prowess of a leading electric two-wheeler brand on a global scale. As of March 31, 2024, AIMA’s total electric two-wheeler sales had reached 80 million units, earning certification from Frost & Sullivan, a globally recognized business growth consulting firm, as the “Global Leading Electric Two-wheeler Brand”.

Over the years, AIMA has always been a product trendsetter in the electric two-wheeler sector. As of March 31, 2024, the total sales volume of AIMA electric two-wheelers reached 80 million, and Frost & Sullivan, a world-renowned market consulting company, awarded AIMA with the market status certification of the “Global Leading Electric Two-wheeler Brand (by Sales)”.

AIMA adhere to the customer-centered product philosophy and technologies that support long-term innovation and breakthroughs. We believe that the efficiency and modern technology of the AIMA F-626 will present an excellent alternative means of communication for our customers.