Tribal Credit, a business credit card specially designed to meet the needs of emerging market start-ups, has closed a $5.5 million seed round led by BECO Capital and Global Ventures.

Using a proprietary AI-driven approval process and blockchain technology, the Silicon Valley-based fintech provides start-ups with instant access to credit and complete control over their spending.

Tribal Credit's backers include Endure Capital, 500 Startups, Valve VC, AR Ventures, Off The Grid Ventures, Rising Tide Fund, RiseUp, and Tribe Capital.

“Tribal Credit will bring start-ups closer to the payment channels and capital they need to grow and scale, giving them access to banking services previously only available to large corporates,” said Amr Shady, CEO and Endeavor entrepreneur who previously founded TA Telecom.

Around 200 million SMEs in emerging economies lack access to formal savings and credit, which often restrict or slow start-up growth.

Strict banking regulations often limit or make difficult the opening of business bank accounts, obtaining credit cards, and making cross-border payments, a statement from Tribal Capital said.

(Writing by Seban Scaria; editing by Daniel Luiz)

(seban.scaria@refinitiv.com)

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