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S1lkpay raises $1.22m led by UAE's Seven Rivers Capital

Dubai - The startup has already received Innovation Testing License from DFSA and Fintech License from AIFC.

S1lkpay, an Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) and DIFC-fintech startup has raised $1.22 million in a round led by UAE’s Seven Rivers Capital. The deal also included the participation of some other angel investors from the Middle East and Central Asian regions. The company’s new capital was raised on a $14.5 million valuation, post-money.

Founded in 2019 by a former banker Gani Uzbekov, S1lkpay is currently launching its solution, prepaid platform for unbanked and underbanked, in Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) and Astana International Financial Center (AIFC). The startup has already received Innovation Testing License from DFSA and Fintech License from AIFC.

S1lkpay — an affiliate member of Mastercard — provides a robust suite of payment products and services that are on the cutting edge of technology development.

Uzbekov has over twenty years of experience in finance and international development. His academic and working background includes LSE and Harvard University, Deputy Finance Minister, and Deputy FSA Governor. He has been CEO and DCEO/CRO of several banks, including HSBC Bank Kazakhstan. Gani Uzbekov has also built and launched an industry-disrupting concept and services. His last messenger banking used alternative media to gain customers and it was the first to launch a fully functional messenger banking in the CIS region. He and his team were nominated and awarded numerous awards in the fintech industry.

Uzbekov said: “With our new platform anyone in any part of the world, can instantly become our client and enjoy our financial services, e.g., p2p transfers, cardsharing solutions, crowdfunding options, payments, and others. We strongly believe those two billion people, who are unbanked in the world, deserve to be included in the world financial system. And our solution helps them immensely.”

The CEO of Seven Rivers Capital, A. Rakhilkin, said, “Seven Rivers Capital is proud to be leading this round for S1lkpay. We see tremendous opportunity for startups like S1lkpay to offer breakthrough financial services and products. With the prepaid platform anyone in any part of the world, can instantly become a client and enjoy financial services including p2p transfers, cardsharing solutions, crowdfunding options, payments, and others. We strongly believe those 2 bln people, who are unbanked in the world, deserve to be included in the world financial system. And S1lkpay’s platform helps them immensely. ”

The startup’s prepaid platform allows a person to buy a prepaid card and instantly join a digital payment platform to do banking. A senior employee with  S1lkpay, Y. Beiseibayev said: “I strongly believe that our prepaid platform will be attractive for people, especially unbanked people. The cost of being outside of the banking world is huge. We can provide people with such a great opportunity of being included in the financial world and enjoy all benefits. I strongly believe that people can be bankers for themselves. And our platform helps them be a banker.”

— sandhya@khaleejtimes.com