Qiro Finance raises $1.2M in a pre-Seed round led by early-stage web3 accelerator Alliance, others

Qiro Finance, a decentralized finance (DeFi) startup, has raised $1.2 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Alliance, an early-stage web3 accelerator, with additional support from Druid Ventures, Escape Velocity (EV3), Trident Digital, and CMT Digital.

Qiro Finance also received a 100,000 MATIC grant from Polygon’s Village Build Ideas Program and a $50,000 development grant from the Aptos Foundation.

Purpose of fundraising

The startup plans to use the raised capital to support the development and expansion of Qiro Finance, focusing on product development and ecosystem expansion.

“We are eagerly anticipating the journey ahead to revolutionize the private credit market. Our initial focus will revolve around supporting fintech asset originators within the Southeast Asian (SEA) markets, with an expansion roadmap encompassing other emerging markets. By harnessing the potential of DeFi and Blockchain technology, we remain resolute in establishing a more transparent, efficient, and accessible credit ecosystem," said CEO and Co-founder Akshay Poshatwar.

Tackling the credit gap in emerging markets

Qiro Finance, a decentralized finance (DeFi) company, was founded by Akshay Poshatwar and Nishikant Bahalkar to tackle the significant credit gap in emerging markets.

This gap is largely due to the dominance of risk-averse banks in the credit market.

It aims to bridge this gap by creating a decentralized credit protocol that connects asset originators in emerging markets with global investors using blockchain and stablecoin technology. The company is headquartered in Singapore.

How does Qiro Finance plan to address the credit gap?

According to a KKR report, the APAC region has only a 21% share of private lenders compared to the US's 67%. This disparity hinders borrowers in emerging markets from accessing non-bank credit.

Qiro Finance seeks to change this by linking emerging market businesses with global credit investors. This connection is intended to capture the dynamism of the region’s businesses and provide a more inclusive credit system.

Role of RWA tokenization in Qiro Finance's strategy?

RWA tokenization has become a significant theme in the crypto market, with major firms like Blackrock and Franklin Templeton launching on-chain funds. This has driven the sector to an $8 billion total value locked, according to a Messari Report.

Qiro Finance is developing a decentralized credit protocol to facilitate tokenized RWA-backed credit applications.

Nishikant Bahalkar, CPO and Co-founder, explained, “RWA credit on-chain isn’t a novel concept; however, Qiro is trailblazing open credit data and risk underwriting infrastructure for RWA credit protocols, addressing the adverse selection and credit defaults affecting on-chain credit transactions.”