Dubai-based fintech Elevate announced today that it has raised $5 million in equity and debt in a pre-Series A round from UAE’s Negma Group. The breakdown of the funding was not disclosed by the YC-backed startup, which previously raised seed funding from Y Combinator, Global Founders Capital, Venture Souq, and Visa. So far, Elevate has accumulated $10 million in equity and debt.
Founded in 2021, Elevate initially launched as Sudanese-fintech Bloom, aiming to create a neobank for Sudan. However, it pivoted last year to offer global USD accounts to remote workers in emerging markets. It began with a private beta in Egypt and Pakistan late last year, and publicly launched earlier this year in these markets, as well as Bangladesh and the Philippines.
Elevate partners with its sponsor bank, Bangor Savings Bank, a 172-year-old FDIC-member bank in Maine, to provide U.S.-based banking services to non-U.S. residents. This partnership allows remote workers to receive wages directly into U.S. bank accounts, use a debit card for purchases, and transfer funds to their domestic bank accounts at competitive rates.
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Since its launch, over 150,000 people have signed up for Elevate’s USD accounts, which have become a popular alternative to Wise in these markets. Wise no longer allows new signups in some of these regions, leaving Elevate and Payoneer as the main options. Elevate claims to offer better exchange rates than Payoneer and, in some cases, Wise.
In addition to freelancers, Elevate serves remote workers employed by international firms in Pakistan, Egypt, Bangladesh, and the Philippines. The company has established partnerships with leading freelancing platforms and payroll providers like Deel.
Co-founders Khalid Keenan and Youcef Oudjidane remarked, “Platforms like Deel and Upwork have enabled remote work in emerging markets, allowing talent from cities like Manila, Lahore, Cairo, and Dhaka to compete globally. However, outdated systems for receiving USD payments have posed challenges. We are grateful to our partners for supporting us in tackling this payment problem. We are excited to grow in emerging markets while prioritizing compliance and managing risk.”
Elevate plans to use the new funds to launch in five additional markets later this year, including Indonesia, South Africa, Vietnam, and Turkey.
