Herconomy, a global organisation which connects women to a range of economic opportunities through an innovative online platform, is aiming to grow its global presence following a successful fundraise which generated $600,000 (£450,000) in new investment in 24 hours. The funds have been secured through a range of sources with a significant share of the investment coming from the organisation’s UK-based committee members and business angels.

Launched as ACS Tribe in 2019 by Ife Durosinmi-Etti, a dual UK/Nigerian citizen, the organisation was recently rebranded as Herconomy with its focus on empowering women by widening access to economic opportunities, training, jobs and capacity building. The organisation supports its members by providing access to grants, loans, scholarships, employment and investment opportunities. It also works with several brands, globally and locally, providing women with discounts on key products and services. To further empower its members, Herconomy is now pivoting to financial services, aiming to build the world’s leading ecosystem where women can save and earn higher interest rates.

Based in Nigeria and the UK with an international focus, Ife and her organisation have generated global recognition. She’s been listed on the Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) register for her work in empowering women to leverage wider economic benefit. Ife was also recently appointed as a Youth Advisory Group Member for Solutions for Youth Employment (S4YE), a global coalition formed by the World Bank.

In October, Herconomy launched a new global partnership with Amazon EU, aimed at helping more women secure leadership positions within the global e-commerce company, in line with its commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Herconomy currently has more than 1,500 UK members within its global community of over 15,000 entrepreneurs and professionals.

The proceeds of this pre-seed round will go towards recruitment, marketing and technology improvements to support Herconomy’s growth as the world’s leading neobank for women. This will include further development of UK partnerships to support women and the building of closer business links between UK female-focused companies and the Nigerian business community to maximise mutual economic growth opportunities.

Commenting on the fundraise, Ife Durosinmi-Etti said: “We’re delighted with the incredible response we’ve had from our community in this initial investment round, especially in the UK. The round was completed in just 24 hours and significantly over-subscribed, with over £4m worth of pledges. We’ve opted to only accept the initial £450,000 ($600,000) which is what we currently require to scale our platform.

“Many of our members either live in the UK or have close affiliations here. We are looking forward to further developing our presence throughout the UK which includes welcoming more merchants to join our platform’.

“We have ambitious plans and aim to become the world’s leading digital bank for women. We will achieve this by focusing on key markets including the UK to develop further partnerships with female-focused businesses and by expanding the range of products and services aimed at supporting women on our platform.”