Investment Considerations
- The FEXD management team has extensive international experience in developing global fintech platforms and services.
- The company in September 2022 announced a business combination with Rana Financial, which provides transfer of funds services between the U.S. and Latin America.
- At that same time, FEXD announced the acquisition of Afinoz, a digital lending platform used by India’s leading banks.
- In January 2023 the company announced an extension to close its announced business combinations with Rana and Afinoz through April 2023.
Fintech Ecosystem Development Corp. (NASDAQ: FEXD) is a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) formed for the purpose of effecting one or more business combinations with an intent to focus on the financial technology sector.
The company’s mission is to create and grow a global financial services ecosystem to address unmet mobile money needs in developing and industrialized countries and markets. FEXD plans to achieve this by acquiring and merging with financial technology pioneers that have the potential to help establish its global fintech ecosystem, and by continuing the development of proprietary technologies and applications to keep the company at the forefront of the cashless society market.
Digital money is replacing physical cash. Consumers can buy products and services from anywhere in the world and make payments across borders. Parents can send money to students studying in other countries. Migrant workers are sending money to families in developing nations. Rural villagers without banks can send and receive money using their smartphones. FEXD is developing mobile transaction platforms, applications and services that are helping to implement these changes.
The company plans to offer a diverse portfolio of products and services to consumers and businesses in the United States, South Asia, East Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. Its growth strategy includes acquisition, innovation and market development.
FEXD is a Delaware corporation based in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. The company was launched in May 2021 by a management team led by Dr. Saiful Khandaker that has extensive experience in developing and managing financial service platforms and applications, primarily in the mobile money sector. FEXD is sponsored by Revofast LLC.
Acquisition Targets
In September 2022, FEXD announced definitive agreements for business combinations with Rana Financial Inc., a Georgia corporation, and Mobitech International LLC (dba Afinoz), a limited liability company organized in the United Arab Emirates. The agreements call for Rana and Afinoz to become wholly owned subsidiaries of FEXD, with the combined company expected to continue trading on the Nasdaq under existing ticker symbol ‘FEXD’. The mergers are expected to close in Q2 2023.
Rana Financial
Rana Financial is a licensed money transfer company founded in 2009. Rana provides fast and affordable online and mobile transfer of funds between the U.S. and Latin America. Rana has been providing money transfer services in the U.S. market for 13 years and has 30,000 active users. Rana’s money transfer business grew to 200,000 transactions in 2021. The merger agreement values Rana at an implied $78 million enterprise value.
Mobitech International LLC
Mobitech International LLC (dba Afinoz) is an artificial intelligence-enabled digital lending platform used by India’s leading banks, non-banking financial companies and fintech loan providers. Afinoz’s fintech platform supports enterprises making loans primarily to middle- and working-class borrowers via its website or through its mobile phone application. Afinoz’s platform makes loans available and affordable to millions of Indian workers and unbanked users by providing access at a low cost. Afinoz’s platform has more than 50 lending partners, and its database of registered users in India includes more than two million individuals. The merger agreement values Afinoz at an implied $120 million enterprise value.
Market Opportunity
According to analysis by global market research firm Mordor Intelligence, the worldwide financial technology market is valued at approximately $194 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to nearly $500 billion by 2028, representing a CAGR of 18.97% for the forecast period. According to the report, various financial crises and the COVID-19 pandemic have fueled consumer adoption of, and investor interest in, fintech over the past several years.
Management Team
Dr. Saiful Khandaker is Founder, CEO and President of FEXD. He is Group CEO and founder of FAMA Holdings Inc., a global developer of fintech platforms, applications and services based in the U.S. with offices in the U.K., India, Bangladesh and Zambia. He is currently leading the development of the FAMACASH™ network, a global fintech ecosystem to provide fast, affordable mobile money services in underserved countries such as Bangladesh. Before founding FAMA, Dr. Khandaker spent more than two decades leading the development of software solutions for Fortune 100 companies and startups. He also helped numerous clients modernize their fintech services as Chief Technology Officer at Mi3. He holds a Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership, a Master of Science in Technology Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems.
Jenny Junkeer is CFO at FEXD. She is a Chartered Accountant with over 17 years of experience. As CEO of Junkeer New Era Consulting, she leads a team specializing in helping companies launch and optimize business operations in fast-changing industries. She has extensive experience helping organizations scale operations to maximize value. She is an Adjunct Association Professor at Deakin University in Australia, a board member of the Global Health Initiative Foundation, and Director of Implementation at ConnectCV. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree (Honors) from Monash University.