Power Financial Wellness (Power), a Kenya-based financial technology provider, has announced it has raised a $3 million (Ksh376 million) seed funding round led by DOB Equity alongside Bolt by QED Investors, Quona Capital, Zephyr Acorn, and Norrsken Accelerator. The funds will be used to support the company’s growth in Kenya, Zambia, and other countries across Africa.
Power, founded by Brian Dempsey and Chandra Singh in 2020, allows workers to take control of their financial health by making a holistic set of financial services available to employees and gig workers across Sub-Saharan Africa. The company helps individuals to access earned wages, streamline savings and investments to regulated partners, qualify for longer-term credit, and enroll in affordable insurance, so that workers can live with dignity, reduce financial-related stress, and take control of their financial well-being.
“There is a growing global workforce that is unprotected, financially stressed, and unhealthy. At Power, we help individuals regain control of their financial well-being by connecting them to affordable and appropriate financial services,” says Dempsey. “We do this by providing a full digital banking platform connecting financial service providers, companies, and their workforces. We are incredibly excited to have such a strong group of investors join us on our journey to bring financial health to workers across Africa!”
Power’s solution includes a mobile app for employees and workers, a workforce deduction management system for employers, and a digital core banking engine connecting into regulated financial service providers. Through the app, workers are digitally onboarded and verified and then have immediate access to the Power services.
“The concerning deterioration in financial health, and increased prevalence of predatory financial instruments, present an opportunity for transparent, holistic and beneficial financial solutions,” says Anne Njuki, Investment Professional at DOB Equity. “We are thrilled to be teaming up with Power to scale up in Kenya and across Africa to address this pressing opportunity.”
Africa has witnessed strong growth in financial inclusion over the last decade. In Kenya, nearly 84% of adults had access to financial services and products from formal institutions in 2021, a healthy increase from 27% in 2006. However, while financial inclusion has improved, financial health (the ability to manage day-to-day needs, cope with shocks, and invest in future goals) has deteriorated in this same period. According to Financial Sector Deepening Kenya (FSD Kenya), only 17% of Kenyans were financially healthy in 2021, compared with 39% in 2016. The main drivers of the deterioration in financial health were predatory interest rates, lack of financial transparency, and easy access to predatory loans for those disproportionately lacking financial literacy.
By 2035, there will be more people entering the workforce in Africa than in the rest of the world combined. Nearly three out of every four people in Sub-Saharan Africa today work in the informal economy, which is increasingly becoming digitized. Yet both informal gig workers and formal employees largely remain unprotected, underserved, and financially stressed.
“There is an urgent need to develop a more holistic set of financial solutions that improve financial health and well-being, for both formal workers and the growing gig economy,” says Brian Dempsey, co-founder and CEO of Power.
This seed round investment will accelerate Power’s growth in Kenya and Zambia and deepen its presence across other countries in East, West, and Southern Africa. In Kenya, Power engages customers directly and has already onboarded over 70 employers and gig platforms representing over 40,000 workers. As it expands into new markets like Zambia, Power strategically partners with banks and lenders and delivers a white labeled Workplace Banking solution that is quick to deploy and can deliver digitized financial services to the workforces of companies that bank with Power’s partners.
“There is a massive and untapped opportunity to provide niche and relevant financial services to a demographic of the population often overlooked or underserved by existing providers. We are excited to partner with Power in Kenya and to bring key learnings we have from similar businesses globally as they build this business in Kenya, and more broadly, Africa,” says Gbenga Ajayi, Partner and Head of Africa at QED Investors.
Read: Power Partners With Turaco To Provide Affordable Insurance To Gig Economy
