Jia, a blockchain-based financing solution provider, has announced raising $4.3 million in equity funding.
The funding round was led by TCG Crypto, with BlockTower, Hashed Emergent, Saison Capital, Draft Ventures, and other prominent fintech and blockchain funds participating. Renowned angel investors such as Packy McCormick, Anand Iyer, Jared Hecht, and Rory Eakin also backed this initiative.
Zach Marks, Cheng Cheng, Ivan Orone, and Yuting Wang, four finance veterans from emerging markets, launched Jia in response to the need for affordable financing in these regions.
The team, originally from Tala, a platform that scaled its user base to six million borrowers across three continents, recognized the need for a more equitable financial system where borrowers also have ownership stakes.
“Millions of brilliant entrepreneurs across emerging markets are locked out of the legacy financial system,” remarked Zach Marks, CEO and co-founder of Jia. “We created Jia to provide fair access to essential tools, enabling entrepreneurs to create new jobs, grow their operations, and broaden opportunities in their communities.”
Jia represents a transformative approach to financial inclusion in emerging markets, providing a blockchain-based solution that allows investors to deploy capital into real businesses while earning competitive returns.
The platform employs an automated underwriting model, backed by global investors, to evaluate potential borrowers and provide capital.
Notably, borrowers receive token rewards upon repayment, thus securing an ownership stake in Jia’s long-term growth. This setup not only leads to lower interest rates, longer repayment periods, and more flexible credit terms but also introduces these businesses to the broader Web3 economy.
With its initial focus on Kenya and the Philippines, Jia supports entrepreneurs across diverse sectors, from healthcare and education to local retailers and restaurants.
In the wake of this successful funding round, Jia is well-positioned to disrupt the current financial ecosystem and introduce a new era of affordable, accessible, and rewarding financing for entrepreneurs in emerging markets.
AsiaTechDesk