Baluwo has closed a €2 million investment round led by Creas
Baluwo has closed a €2 million investment round led by Creas Impacto to drive the digitization of the last mile in Africa through cash-to-goods.
The investment will improve the well-being of African migrants and their families by enabling greater efficiency and traceability of sending money for the use of essential services and products in Africa.
Baluwo is a cash-to-goods platform based in Barcelona that allows for the payment of basic products and services such as mobile voice and data, electricity, and food from Europe to migrants’ families in rural areas of West Sub-Saharan Africa.
This €2 million round was led by Creas, a pioneering impact investment firm in Spain. The round also received support from the Open Value Foundation (a leading impact investment foundation in emerging countries), fintech sector experts, and a significant portion of the Company's partners. The new investors join Cabiedes, Big Sur, and 4Founders in the shareholder base.
Baluwo’s Impact
Founded five years ago by Josep Arroyo, an entrepreneur with extensive business experience, having previously founded and sold two software companies, Baluwo aims to improve the lives of migrants and their families by offering an alternative to traditional remittance methods. Baluwo provides enhanced control and traceability of money usage, as well as efficient access to basic products and services. The platform operates in 14 countries, with a network of over 1,000 establishments. It has already improved the lives of over half a million families and currently has a monthly revenue of over €1 million, experiencing a growth of 250% in the last year.
Despite the doubling of the number of migrants in Baluwo's operating countries in recent decades, and the $40 billion in remittances received by these countries in 2019, few companies truly adapt to the real needs of migrants and their families. Baluwo addresses this gap by offering adjusted payments and commissions, focusing on rural areas in Africa, and working with the purpose of addressing migrants' need for knowledge and control over the money they send, thus strengthening family ties and improving the well-being of both parties.
The Investment
The capital raised in this investment round aims to boost the platform's growth by including new value-added products and services such as education and health, as well as international expansion in France, Italy, the UK, and the USA (countries with over 4 million Africans).
According to Josep Arroyo, "this investment will allow us to make a significant leap by attracting more migrants and incorporating more impactful services such as health and education. We are excited about the possibilities that open up in measuring social impact, thanks to the methodology provided by Creas and other impact funds."
Emilio Ayanz, partner at Creas, also commented, "we are pleased to welcome Baluwo to our portfolio. Baluwo has the ambition to improve the quality of life of migrants and their families by digitizing the last mile in Africa. This ambition aligns perfectly with our vocation to go beyond, supporting innovative solutions that significantly improve lives on a scalable level."
About Baluwo Financial Services S.L:
Baluwo was founded by Josep Arroyo, the CEO of the company. With over 30 years of professional experience, Josep's highlights include successfully creating and selling two software companies (Online1, a pioneering ERP that expanded to the USA, and Quiterian, a big data SaaS). In 2016, he decided to launch Baluwo to generate social impact. The company has closed several financing rounds with high-level investors such as Cabiedes, Seedrocket, and BigSur.
For more information: www.baluwo.com
About Creas Impacto:
Creas is one of the pioneering and leading impact investment firms in Spain with over 10 years of trajectory. Creas aims to empower and care for individuals while regenerating the economy through investment in companies that propose innovative solutions to the main educational, healthcare, environmental, and inclusion challenges faced by society. Since its inception, Creas has completed more than 20 investments and divestments, co-investing and collaborating with a wide network of private and institutional investors, both national and international. Currently, they manage Creas Impacto, a €30 million fund with a portfolio of 11 invested companies.
For more information: www.creas.es