NPIF – Maven Equity Finance invests £500,000 in Chester based Yimba

By Joy Dumasia

NPIF – Maven Equity Finance, managed by Maven Capital Partners (Maven) and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF), has invested £500,000 in Yimba Ltd (Yimba). Yimba has developed a digital wallet technology that allows banks to deliver personalised banking services to their consumers via mobile banking and payment wallet integrations.

The funding will enable the business to invest in product development, expand its team to service a growing number of customers and create 10+ high-value jobs in the region. The funding has been seen as the most effective way of boosting growth whilst earning the support of an investor who will support and supply the expertise needed to achieve it.

Yimba launched its product with Mastercard, Meawallet and Railsbank in Q3 2021 and has quickly developed interest from Tier 1 and challenger bank organisations, with a number expected to launch in 2022. The attractiveness of the proposition stems from Yimba’s easy to integrate software (only three lines of code), its innovative product proposition, and compelling business model. 

Core to Yimba’s offering is a digital personalisation tool that allows bank or card issuers to customise the digital version of their card stored in payment wallets such as Apple and Google Pay. Banks and financial institutions can deliver differentiated product propositions, compel customers to use payment wallets, generate new consumer insights, and drive marketing campaign opportunities with this simple tool. These features are regarded as fun as well as extremely relevant for consumers.

The market for Yimba is large and growing, especially as mobile phone growth is expected to reach £3 billion within 4 years worldwide. With several bank propositions lacking differentiation, Yimba has adapted to cater to more socially driven customers who demand personalisation. This demand was seen as an opportunity to create an enhanced customer experience welcomed across the financial market.

Yimba’s management team includes Co-Founder and CEO Robert Dowd, who has previous experience as a senior manager and director at American Express, Barclaycard, Citibank and MBNA/Bank of America. Robert is joined by fellow Co-Founder and CCO Lee Clarke, a serial entrepreneur with significant experience scaling businesses from inception to growth, most recently with Bink.

Co-Founder Jonathan Allen also makes up the management team, working as CPO. Jonathan is an experienced product director, having worked previously at Morgan Stanley, MBNA, MoneySuperMarket.com and Coop digital.

Alex Rothwell, Senior Investment Manager at Maven, said: “Yimba has created a solution that is unique within the digital wallet environment, with significant market potential for growth. Robert and his team are highly knowledgeable with a wealth of experience in their fields, and we are delighted to support the business at this time as it embarks on its next stage of its development.”

Robert Dowd, Co-Founder and CEO of Yimba, said: “After a significant period of development and business engagement, Maven’s NPIF investment allows the company to be well-positioned to support the company’s rapid growth in 2022. We are very excited to be working with such an experienced organisation as we expand our team in the North West and our client base globally.”

Sue Barnard from the British Business Bank said: “Yimba is an exciting example of the opportunities that exist in the digitial banking sector, and the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund is pleased to be supporting companies in the FinTech sector. The funding will be able to help Yimba in its product development and support the company in growing its team. Businesses like Yimba are great examples of the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit that we have in the North of England.”