JUMO, a financial technology platform connecting underserved markets with financial services, today announced its participation in the sophomore session of Google’s Launchpad Studio. Established in 2017, Launchpad Studio is a fully-tailored product development acceleration program that gives selected startups the unique opportunity to work hand-in-hand with Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning (ML) research and development teams, with access to seasoned experts and mentors from Google and Silicon Valley.
JUMO joins a cohort of companies from across nine countries and four continents, including Indonesia’s billion-dollar unicorn startup Go-Jek and Starling Bank – a UK based mobile-only bank, that are focused on leveraging technology to promote financial inclusion. Paul Whelpton, JUMO’s Chief Analytics Officer, is leading JUMO’s team of mentees for an immersive program at Google’s headquarters to develop AI and ML product offerings and solutions that enable inclusive and differentiated banking, insurance and credit products.
“We are honoured to have the opportunity to collaborate with some of the leading minds in AI and ML to accelerate the extension of financial services to the billions of un(der)-served people in the world,” says JUMO founder and CEO Andrew Watkins-Ball. “We’re at a critical point in our business where we are focused on leveraging the latest technology to increase customer eligibility and decrease unequal access to quality financial products in emerging markets.”
JUMO’s technology platform puts formal banking products such as loans, savings and insurance in the hands of underserved emerging market customers in real time, via mobile phones using any interface. JUMO allows customers to leverage their digital footprint from everyday transactions, like mobile money usage, to give them a financial identity and make them eligible for financial services. Since launching in November 2014, JUMO has expanded and scaled rapidly, serving over 10 million customers across seven African and Asian markets and disbursing more than US$1 billion in funds to mainly small and micro business owners. In 2018, JUMO raised more than US$65 million in a funding round led by Goldman Sachs.
This is the second Google program that JUMO has been selected to participate in and follows the company’s participation in the 2017 Google Launchpad Accelerator, aimed at growth stage tech startups from emerging ecosystems. The program provides leadership training, mentorship and equity-free support to the startups.
