british

Venture

Despite obstacles, minority-run businesses thrive in the UK

Black founders in the UK are also seeing the impact of venture’s winter year. That would put 2023 behind 2022, when such founders raised 1.02% ($316 million of $30.88 billion), and 2021, when Black founders were allocated 1.13% ($454 million out of $40.03 billion) of all venture investment in the country. The downward trend in the share of investment allocated to Black founders most likely stems from the venture downturn of these past two years. For example, Black founders in the U.K. raised only 0.28% of venture funds in 2019, 0.23% in 2018, and 0.38% in 2017. Per Extend Ventures, between 2009 and 2019, only 38 Black founders were able to raise venture funding at all in the country; that number now stands at 80.

Zara Khan
December 19, 2023

Fintech, Startups, Venture

Aye Finance Secures $37M in Funding from British International Investment

In 2020, the startup raised $27.5 million in its Series E funding round led by Alphabet’s CapitalG. It competes with the likes of Capital Float, Lendingkart and Indifi, which all work toward offering credit to small enterprises in the South Asian nation. One key reason for startups like Aye Finance and others to gain enough traction in India is the lack of credit for small businesses. “Aye Finance is on a growth journey, and we are delighted to partner with BII, who have a deep understanding of the financial services sector in India. “Our investment in Aye Finance underscores our commitment to back companies that have a strong development impact philosophy and promote financial inclusion for India’s underserved groups.