Business Forum • 22 November, 2024 at 3:54 PM
Fagura, the fintech platform that connects entrepreneurs and investors, announces a new €1 million funding round secured through convertible notes. The funds will support the expansion of operations in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). They will also enable the development of innovative digital services aimed at helping freelancers and small entrepreneurs through a financial ecosystem that provides instant access to capital and tailored tools for business growth.
This funding round was backed by two investment funds – uVentures and Mozaic Ventures – along with a group of angel investors, including Liviu Munteanu, Partner at Founders Bridge, a VC Fund active on the Romanian market and Radu Cheltuială, founder of iTicket, a leading platform for ticketing and event management, among others investors.
The investment will be directed for technological innovations and expansion into new markets across the CEE region. Key initiatives include leveraging artificial intelligence to optimize automated credit scoring, launching bank accounts and cards for entrepreneurs, gamifying the platform through tokenized rewards, and integrating personalized financial solutions for freelancers and small entrepreneurs. Also, Fagura aims to collaborate with e-commerce platforms, accounting firms, and other digital solutions to expand its range of services and create a financial ecosystem that directly supports business growth.
“This funding represents a significant step in our mission to support 1 million entrepreneurs through an innovative financial ecosystem. We are deeply grateful for the trust placed in us by investors such as uVentures and Mozaic Ventures, as well as other angel investors. This round provides us with the resources needed to accelerate innovation and expand into new markets,” said Tudor Darie, CEO of Fagura.
"Fagura's product and vision for serving entrepreneurs in CEE perfectly aligns with our investment focus," said Andrii Sorokhan, Venture Director at U.Ventures. "We are confident that the team will make a big impact on reshaping financial access in the region."
Dmitri Namashco, CEO of Mozaic Ventures, emphasized, “Fagura is proposing a new strategic direction, expanding beyond their current crowdfunding solution. Their products and services are transformative for the business environment. At Mozaic, we are grateful to be part of this journey and strongly believe that the Fagura team is capable of building a financial ecosystem that will serve millions of entrepreneurs.”
Since its launch, Fagura has facilitated over €8.5 million in investments and attracted more than 40,000 users to the platform, with over 4,000 active clients. Fagura holds four licenses issued by regulatory authorities in the European Union and the Republic of Moldova, ensuring that the platforms Fagura.com and Fagura.ro are fully authorized. These licenses provide a robust framework of protection for both entrepreneurs and investors. Over the next three years, the company aims to facilitate more than €50 million in funding for freelancers and small entrepreneurs, providing them with instant access to capital and tailored resources to support the sustainable growth and development of their businesses.
Fagura.com was launched in May 2019. The platform features automated scoring that enables decision-making in less than 10 seconds. It has been recognized with multiple awards in the Fintech sector at both national and regional events: Top 3 Best FinTechs in 2019 (Romania), FinTech Brand of the Year in 2020 and 2021 (Moldova), and the Startup with the Greatest Impact in 2020 and 2023 (Moldova). Additionally, Fagura.com was a winner of the InnovX BCR Scaleup Accelerator in 2022, named among The Next 100 Global Companies by Global Banking & Finance Review, and received accolades at the Euro-Asian Startup Awards in 2022. În 2023-2024 we were part of the EBRD Star Venture programme and we got the USAID Digi Award in partnership with FTA (Chemonics Moldova).