The fund Roosh Ventures has invested $130 million in French BNPL payment service Alma that also obtained funds from Chinese Internet giant Tencent.
"We admire Alma and how they improved consumer credit rating using Machine Learning algorithms. We are proud to be a part of the history of this startup and will make every effort to ensure that our expertise in the field of AI/ML makes the Alma product even stronger," Den Dmitrenko, Managing Partner at Roosh Ventures, said.
BNPL (Buy now, pay later) services are becoming increasingly popular among consumers. This is a flexible payment option and Roosh Ventures believe that at some point these service providers will replace the use of credit cards.
According to Den Dmitrenko, fintech visionary and Alma CEO Louis Chatriot is able to bring about such changes.
The concept of BNPL is arranged as follows: a consumer makes a purchase, pays 20-30% of the product cost, and the rest is paid in equal parts within a certain period of time. The store receives the full amount immediately through BNPL services.
Roosh Ventures is a Ukrainian venture capital fund that invests in companies from Europe and the US at various stages. The main areas are fintech, healthtech, consumer tech, and gaming. The Roosh Ventures portfolio already includes more than 20 companies, including Deel, Oura Ring, Facemoji, and Playco.