Jia Newsletter #1: Finance, Fairer and Faster
Welcome to Jia’s first newsletter 🚀
Thank you for tuning in. We are so excited to share what we’ve been up to and how you can partner with us to invest in productive small businesses and provide critical financial services across the world.
Our mission
For those who don’t know us, Jia is on a mission to ensure everyone has control of their financial destiny. Today, millions of hard-working entrepreneurs are locked out of the financial system, resulting in a $5 trillion unmet need for financing among micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in emerging markets. When banks do provide financing, high interest rates eat most of the value created by entrepreneurs.
Jia uses blockchain technology to solve this (read our litepaper), providing entrepreneurs with fair, affordable financing to grow their businesses, and rewarding them with something they truly value — actual ownership to build wealth in the long run.
Jia goes live 🚀
Last month we officially launched and announced a number of key partnerships. Here are some highlights:
🎉 Jia raises $4.3 million in seed funding to finance small businesses in emerging markets
The round was led by TCG Crypto, with participation from BlockTower, Hashed Emergent, Saison Capital, Draft Ventures, Awesome People Ventures, Spice Capital and amazing angels including Packy McCormick of Not Boring, Anand Iyer of Canonical Crypto, and fintech founders Jared Hecht and Rory Eakin. We’ll use this funding to expand our operations in Kenya and the Philippines, and to explore new markets in Africa, Asia and Latin America. In addition to this seed funding, we secured an additional $1 million in commitments for on-chain liquidity. Read more in TechCrunch.
🚀 We partnered with Huma Finance to bring small businesses in emerging markets on chain
On May 17th, Jia launched its Pioneer Fund Pool on Huma Finance to connect global capital to small business borrowers around the world. These include market vendors like Francis Njoroge, who uses Jia to finance his growing spice business, and Dr. Elishaphan Obuya, who borrows from Jia to fund his medical clinic and provide critical healthcare to his community. Read more about the partnership here.
⚡ The Jia Pioneer Fund Pool became fully subscribed in less than 24 hours
Thank you to our Pioneer LPs for choosing to earn competitive returns powered by real-world businesses and putting your capital to work building wealth in emerging markets! Sign up to join our second pool here.
🎨 We launched a limited edition NFT
To commemorate Jia’s launch, we released a limited edition NFT — collect one and join our community! While the NFT mint is free, you are welcome to add a donation, which, along with royalties, will go directly to entrepreneurs in Kenya and the Philippines who are accessing fair, flexible financing from Jia.
🗞 Jia in the news
We’re thrilled to have been covered in TechCrunch and other outlets, such as FinTech Global, Bitcoin.com, MSN, Benzinga, and more. Follow us on Twitter for all the latest news!
How to participate
💸 Invest with us — we’re raising another credit pool
If you missed out on our first pool, don’t worry — our next one will launch soon. Learn more and invest here. Investors earn sustainable yields powered by returns from real-world assets.
💪 Partner with us
Do you have a network of creditworthy entrepreneurs and small businesses who have a need for financing? Join the ecosystem built for impact and finance your network with Jia. Learn more here.
🔨 Work with us
Want to help us reimagine the global economy? You’ll join our fun-loving global team to develop human-centered products with cutting-edge technology that have a direct impact. Check out our open positions and read more about our team on our Careers page.
Jia member spotlight: Francis Njoroge
Francis Njoroge is a spice vendor in the bustling Githurai Market in Kiambu, Kenya. Previously, Francis could only afford to buy small amounts of spices to stock his stall every few days. This kept his costs high and his profit margins low. He often ran out of inventory before the market closed, limiting his sales. Jia is now helping finance Francis’ spice business, allowing him to purchase inventory in bulk and raise his margins.
“I am now able to serve more customers than I ever have,” says Francis. “I can’t tell you how helpful this has been for growing my business.”
If you’re ever in Kenya, pay Francis a visit and pick up some of his trademark biryani masala or order from him online! 🌶️
What’s next
Building on our momentum, we will be expanding Jia’s operations in Kenya and the Philippines and launching new lending partnerships. Stay tuned for the announcement of our upcoming credit fund.
All the best,
