Midas raises $45 million to expand brokerage beyond Turkey
Midas has raised $45 million in equity funding to expand and roll out three new products: cryptocurrency trading, mutual funds, and savings accounts.
The Turkey-based investing platform was launched in 2021 and has opened up the country’s retail investment market to more than two million users. The successful client onboarding was much driven by low commission fees and low minimum balance requirements to access US and Turkey stock markets.
Since then, the trading app has also invested heavily in educating the market by producing real-time stock market data and news, detailed company profiles, in-depth documentaries, a daily podcast, and a weekly newsletter to help investors navigate the markets.
Midas will launch mutual funds, savings products, and crypto
The $45 million in equity funding was the biggest ever Series A fundraising by a Turkish fintech, according to the announcement. The fundraiser was led by Portage, with participation from International Finance Corporation, Spark Capital, Earlybird Digital East Fund, and Revo Capital. The company’s seed round in 2022 raised $11 million.
The new funding will allow Midas to grow its offering to include access to mutual funds, an interest-generating savings product, and cryptocurrency trading.
In the next two to five years, Midas also projects that it will expand beyond Turkey, with plans to target countries in emerging markets. The raise will also help Midas double its headcount. It currently has a team of 210 people working from its office in Istanbul, already triple the number of employees in 2022.
“We want to broaden our horizons and expand our geographic footprint”
Egem Eraslan, CEO and founder of Midas, said: “We are delighted to announce our Series A fundraise, which is the biggest ever by a Turkish fintech. Just a few years ago, Turkey did not have a strong investing culture and the market was stagnant – but thanks to Midas, that is changing. We have already brought affordable, quick access to US and Turkish equities to millions of people in Turkey. This fundraise will allow us to expand our product suite further, with mutual funds, savings products, and cryptocurrency trading firmly in our sights. Longer term, we want to broaden our horizons and expand our geographic footprint beyond Turkey to become a prominent regional player.”
“We have a long-term view for this company, and short-term market conditions have not hindered that. The raise comes as a significant vote of confidence in our mission to transform investing in the region.”
Paul Desmarais III, Co-Founder of Portage and CEO and Chairman of Sagard, added: “Midas is leading a wave of transformation within Turkey’s financial landscape. Globally, Portage invests in transformational financial technology and Midas is poised to lead that initiative in a region of early adopters. We are very pleased to participate in the development of Midas and to support this ambitious team in bringing financial inclusion and access to wealth-building tools to the Turkish people.”
