grão raises investment, wants users to make their own investments
Contxto – Brazilian fintech Diin changed its name to Grão following the wrap up of its first investment for an undisclosed amount. Venture capital (VC) firm Astella led the round and was joined by Vox Capital, and Domo Investimentos.
For the moment, it has around 10,000 users. But the fintech wants to fuel its growth, as a result, it will focus on further developing its product. Especially considering the startup wants to reach one million people in a “medium term.”
It’s reported that with these funds the startup has raised around R$7.5 million (about US$1.78 million).
Call me by my new name
As a result, of its recent funding round, the fintech also changed its name to Grão, meaning “grain” in Portuguese. According to CEO and Co-Founder, Monica Saccarelli, this rechristening is because it appeals to the concept of saving little by little or “grain by grain.”
There’s definitely more to this renaming as it fits with the fintech’s model of having users invest as little as R$1 (less than US$1).
Moreover, there’s a misconception that saving money and then investing is a task left for the Tony Starks and Scrooge McDucks of this world. But Grão wants to change that bit by bit.
To assign a user their investment plan, the app presents them with a questionnaire that identifies their objectives. Plus they can invest in low-risk assets such as government bonds.
Among its other features is a tracker for income and expenses, as well as a goal simulator that shows a user how much they’d need to save up to achieve, let’s say, that trip to Machu Picchu next year.
Its founders launched Diin, ahem, Grão in 2018.
Learning to invest
Leadership at Grão also stated that they’ve taken steps to help users better understand basic financial terms such as “interest.” For me this is a promising sign.
Educating users in core financial concepts and practices benefits fintechs because it encourages user retention. This is so since people better understand the app’s utility. Likewise, it’s also a small way of changing the way we see and use our hard-earned money.
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-ML
