Helios leads Thunes Series B funding round

Helios Investment Partners has led a $ 60 million Series B funding round at Singapore-based fintech startup Thunes, which operates a global network of cross-border B2B payments.

Tope Lawani, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Helios Investment Partners, said: “The African fintech space, and payments in particular, remains a key focus area for Helios and we continue to seek opportunities to support high-growth companies that build key infrastructure for the financial ecosystem in Africa. Thunes is a great example of a company leading this. The unique network built by the company enables its partners to process cross-border payments of all kinds cheaper and faster. “

“We are delighted to support Thunes in its plans to connect multiple payment ecosystems in often challenging markets in Africa and other emerging markets and thereby foster greater financial inclusion.”

Additional investors include Checkout.com, as well as existing investors GGV Capital and Future Shape.

Guillaume Pousaz, CEO and Founder of Checkout.com, said: “We are pleased to support Thunes with this investment, which marks our third transaction of 2020. As a leading and profitable payment provider, Checkout.com has the opportunity to support Entrepreneurs striving to achieve our vision of connected finance. Thunes aligns closely with this, with a mission to build rails that facilitate greater payment options in emerging markets and unite leading financial institutions on one platform. “

“We have followed the growth of Thunes and recognize the company as a pioneer in cross-border payment solutions. We look forward to working closely with them. “

In May 2019, following regulatory approval, Thunes successfully closed a $ 10 million Series A financing led by GGV Capital.

Thunes Series B funding brings the company’s total funds raised to $ 70 million.

Launched in 2016, Thunes’ global network connects mobile wallet providers, banks, technology companies, and money transfer operators, enabling seamless cross-border payments to and from emerging economies in a fast and secure way.

Today, Thunes connects different payment agents in more than 100 countries, giving them access to the largest partner network in emerging markets.

The latest round of funding will drive the continued development of Thunes’s global network and accelerate its expansion and growth in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The capital raised will be used to expand its team and product offering, including business payments and collections from emerging markets.

These regions represent Thunes’s biggest growth opportunity, where fragmented and complex payment ecosystems often leave consumers and businesses struggling with slow, expensive, and unreliable ways to move money.

Peter De Caluwe, CEO of Thunes, said: “This marks a significant milestone in our next phase of growth as we strive to help financial institutions and businesses around the world move money with each other in a faster, cheaper and faster way. trustworthy. Our goal is to make financial services affordable and accessible to everyone. “

“The projected size of cross-border payments from emerging markets is around $ 45 trillion. We will continue to invest and bring additional value to the global payments ecosystem and capitalize on this explosive growth. We expect transaction volumes on our platform to double annually, through the expansion of our network. For the five billion people and businesses in growing emerging market economies, we enable seamless, faster, cross-border payments at more competitive rates, ”he added.