DEAL TALKS: Yrjö Ojasaar of Change Ventures talks about $1.7M seed round investment in askRobin
Another interesting insight in our DEAL TALKS series as Yrjö Ojasaar, Investment Partner of our member firm Change Ventures talks about leading the $1.7M seed round investment into Estonian fintech company askRobin.
1. What makes askRobin unique?
A few words on their uniqueness/competitive edge?
askRobin is a marketplace for fast and fair financial services for the underbanked middle class in Mexico and Latin America. askRobin’s unique risk-based segmentation allows the lenders to lower their cost of acquisition and better quantify risk. For the consumer, this means lower rates and better terms on financial services.
2. How is the investment used?
What are they aiming to achieve with the investment now on board, e.g. name key milestones for the next 12 months?
askRobin will introduce its new risk-based segmentation tools to the existing 100 lending partners, then roll it out market-wide; also team will significantly expanding its sales and customer acquisition team, budget and strategies.
3. Impact and diversity
How do you assess the impact of their business and how diverse is the team?
askRobin team is a very diverse mix of people both in gender as well as origin with team members from Estonia, Finland, Brazil and Mexico. askRobin’s platform aims to bring financial services for the underbanked middle class in Mexico and Latin America. Lower rates and better terms would have a dramatic impact on the lives of the families and small family businesses that traditional lenders refuse to serve.
Key advisors of the deal
Ragnar Sass and Taavi Tamkivi for being the first angel investors in, and first to transfer their investment money - something I am sure every CEO acutely appreciates.
Anu Oks - bringing together a group of EstBan angels to co-invest with - amazing how 11 angel investors got together in less than a week to execute a syndicated investment.
Greete-Kristiine Kuru (Cobalt) and Maivi Ots (Eversheds) for handling the legal diligence and documentation.
- Read more on the investment at Change Ventures' blog HERE