The International Finance Corporation (IFC)has on Thursday announced an investment of $6 million in Midas, a digital brokerage company in Türkiye, to accelerate digitalization in the country’s brokerage industry, strengthen its competitiveness, and empower people to protect their wealth.

IFC said in a statement that IFC participated in one of the country’s largest Series A fundraising rounds, which raised a total of $45 million, alongside lead investor Portage Ventures, Spark Capital, and the IFC-sponsored venture capital funds Revo Capital and EarlyBird Digital East Fund.

This investment enables the innovative fintech startup to build a full wealth management platform for the fast-growing number of Turks who have become retail investors, giving them convenient, low-cost access to a diverse range of investment products and services.

After this recent fundraising round, Midas will be able to expand and diversify its product offering to include high-interest term deposits and mutual funds.

“We are happy to partner with IFC in building the future of investing in the region,

“Having IFC’s backing is a vote of confidence in our vision, and a testament to our work ethic. IFC is an invaluable partner and we are very excited to work together,” said Egem Eraslan, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Midas.

While the brokerage business in Türkiye is an established industry, led by banks and their extensive branch networks, mobile-first retail brokers such as Midas enhance the industry’s competitiveness by offering fast and seamless digital access without charging high fees or requiring high balance requirements, according to the statement.

“Expanding access to tools that help people create wealth is a crucial means of enhancing financial inclusion in Türkiye,

“Supporting Midas will enable the broader population to start investing and safeguarding their wealth,” said Wiebke Schloemer, IFC Director for Türkiye and Central Asia.

Founded in 2020, Midas’s brokerage app allows individuals to invest in U.S. and Turkish equities and engage in forex trades.

IFC — a member of the World Bank Group — is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets.

The institution works in more than 100 countries, using its capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries.

In fiscal year 2023, IFC committed a record $43.7 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of global compounding crises.

IFC has supported private sector development in Türkiye for more than 50 years, with investments of nearly $20 billion in the last decade alone.

Türkiye represents IFC’s third-largest country exposure globally, with a committed portfolio of close to $5.2 billion as of April 2024.

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