Tez Financial Services Raises $1.1M Seed Round

Tez Financial Services , the first fully digital Non-Bank Microfinance Company (NBMFC) in Pakistan, has announced it has raised $1.1m in a Seed round led by Omidyar Network, the impact investment firm established by Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay. Other investors include Accion Venture Lab, the seed-stage investment initiative of global nonprofit Accion, and Planet N. Funds.

The startup currently offers two products: Tez Advance to provide credit to customers with little or no credit history, and Tez Bima to provide microinsurance against financial risks caused by death, permanent disability, or hospitalization.

Here’s How It Works: (1) a user visits Google Play to download the app, (2) creates his Tez Account and gets his profile verified, (3) links his mobile wallet with Tez, and (4) chooses the amount to borrow and the tenure to apply for Tez Advance to later have the amount deposited in his mobile wallet. Tez uses AI to analyze consumers’ digital footprint trends, social behavior, and consumption patterns in order to customize its offerings to (1) cater to users’ short-term liquidity needs through Tez Advance, (2) enable users to park their funds in short-term savings avenues through community-led savings (Digital ROSCAs) through Tez Committee (coming soon), (3) provide users security and protection via health and term-life insurance Tez Bima, and/or (4) economically empower users to grow their wealth by investing in tailored investment plans through Tez Sarmaya (coming soon).

“Our aim is to become the primary financial service provider for the unbanked and underbanked in Pakistan . Tez delivers a seamless experience for our customers, providing loans in under 15 minutes as opposed to the usual month timeline from local commercial banks. Soon, we will be able to process life and health insurance claims in a similar timeframe.” –  Cofounder and CEO of Tez, Nadeem Hussain.

Play.