Midas, a fintech startup that offers investment opportunities in both U.S. and Turkish equities, has announced a successful funding round of $45 million. This round of funding was led by Portage Ventures, a well-known venture capital firm based in Canada. Midas, designed for the retail investor market in Turkey, boasts over 2 million users. The startup sets itself apart by offering lower transaction and commission fees for Turkish customers looking to invest in the U.S. or Turkey. It also provides financial content, real-time stock market data and news, and company profiles to educate on the emerging market.
“If you came to Turkey three years ago, there were only 1.5 million investors. That’s in a country of 80 million,” stated Egem Eraslan, CEO and founder of Midas. “Capital markets’ penetration rates were very, very low. Mobile banking in Turkey is very good and widespread, but there was a lack of investment in equities products because of a lack of infrastructure.”
Eraslan went on to explain how Midas was able to revolutionize the market by building its own infrastructure and creating a user-friendly experience. With just under $500,000, the startup was able to launch and gain traction quickly, breaking through the market deadlock. It is believed that Midas may be the only new broker in the world to have launched self-clearing, self-custody, and self-execution.
While Midas may share similarities with popular U.S.-based investment platform Robinhood, Eraslan notes the differences in approach that were necessary for their success in Turkey. “We had to launch multiple products with our own self-clearing, custody and with the entire value chain. If you’re Robinhood, you don’t have to do self-custody or self-clearing.”
The $45 million in new funding will be used by Midas to expand its offerings to include cryptocurrency trading, mutual funds, and savings accounts. The company also has plans to expand beyond Turkey, with a focus on the MENA region.
The funding round included participation from International Finance Corporation, Spark Capital, Earlybird Digital East Fund, and Revo Capital. This is not the first time Midas has successfully raised funds, having previously secured an $11 million seed round in 2022. The rapid growth and success of Midas in the Turkish fintech market is not surprising, as it follows in the footsteps of other successful startups such as Param, which raised $50 million in 2022.
Earlybird Digital East Fund managing partner, Cem Sertoglu, an early investor in Midas, expressed his admiration for the startup’s success, saying, “Having timed the explosion in demand in the Turkish investment market perfectly as the first digital-native investment platform, Midas has been executing flawlessly. Winning the domestic market in the world’s 11th-largest economy will already be a success for Midas, but its ambitions lie further than that.”
In a statement from Portage co-founder Paul Desmarais III, who also serves as CEO and chairman of Sagard, he shared, “Midas is leading a wave of transformation within Turkey’s financial landscape. Globally, Portage invests in transformational financial technology and Midas is poised to lead that initiative in a region of early adopters.”
