By Godson Umejiego, Senior Correspondent, USA
A financial inclusion startup dedicated to helping people raise their credit scores for free, Grow Credit Inc., has been named to the seventh annual Forbes Fintech 50 list, a coveted list which honors the top companies reinventing finance through technology. The 2022 list showcases the year’s most innovative startups in personal finance, investing, payments and crypto.
Grow Credit is a first-of-its-kind financial product that allows the estimated 100M consumers with no credit or thin credit files to establish or build credit for free using their existing subscription accounts such as Disney Plus, Netflix, Spotify, and more. Grow Credit delivers credit score improvements thanks to a virtual Mastercard backed by a small-dollar loan accessible via the Grow Credit mobile application.
“We are honored with our selection by the Forbes editorial team for inclusion in their prestigious Fintech 50,” said CEO and founder at Grow Credit, Joe Bayen. “This is a testament to the innovation of the Grow Credit product, the hard work of our team, and ultimately underscores our mission to helping thousands of consumers establish and build their credit so they can benefit from less expensive costs of financing in the long run.”
Grow Credit has experienced rapid growth over the past few years. The company now has more than 50,000 customers, an explosive surge from 8,000 at the end of 2020. Since then, the company has partnered with MasterCard and raised a US$106.3M financing seed round, comprised of US$6.3 million in equity financing from various investors and US$100 million in debt financing from Arena Investors, LP, a US$2.6 billion private investment fund.
The Forbes Fintech 50 list represents the most powerful companies that have created massive disruption throughout the entire financial ecosystem. To compile the list, Forbes reporters solicited information from more than 300 startups and then interviewed more than 150 CEOs and founders, as well as independent industry experts.
