Greenwood, the digital banking platform launched last year by co-founders Ryan Glover and rapper/activist Michael “Killer Mike” Render, has attracted some of finance’s biggest names.
According to a joint announcement released Thursday, the burgeoning fintech startup — named after the early 20th-century African-American business district in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that received the nickname “Black Wall Street” — has raised more than $40 million in Series A funding since its website launched in October.
Killer Mike told CNN Business via email, “The challenge of the racial wealth gap can only be effectively addressed by a coalition focused on the mission of financial equity.” He continued, “Greenwood’s Series A funding round is a major step towards economic empowerment to Latino and Black individuals, families, and businesses by assembling multiple parties in finance and financial services to act in concert.”
Greenwood says it was forced to delay its expected January launch date due to excessive demand after more than 500,000 people signed up for an account before launch. Truist Bank, Bank of America (BAC), and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) are among a growing list of major financial institutions invested in the company.
Glover says the timing for Greenwood, which he’s been working on since 2018, couldn’t be better, particularly in light of the cultural movement to help Black-owned businesses that erupted in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder last year.
“Now we have closer to 600,000 folks that have joined our waitlist,” he said. “That’s just truly a testament to the need in the Black and Latinx community for financial empowerment.”
Following the launch of Greenwood’s fintech platform in October, Truist Bank (TFC) claims to have been the platform’s lead investor. According to company representatives, the Atlanta-based commercial bank was the first to inquire about investing in Greenwood. Other major investors include Mastercard (MA), Visa (V), Wells Fargo (CBEAX), Soft Bank’s SB Opportunity Fund, PNC, and Banco Common.
Lightspeed Venture Partners and TTV Capital, and fellow fintech company FIS and private equity division Quality Ventures followed suit. Jesse Williams, an actor, and Alvin Kamara, a running back for the New Orleans Saints, have also joined Greenwood’s investment group.
Truist Ventures’ Vanessa Vreeland says her company believes strongly in Greenwood’s goal of financial empowerment and narrowing the racial wealth gap between White Americans and the majority of people of color.
“We are trying to solve this problem in a number of different ways, but we hadn’t seen anyone trying to solve it from this type of angle,” Vreeland told CNN. “There is a flip side to having big banks come into it. It really legitimizes these guys as serious players in the space.”
Greenwood plans to launch its online debit and spending account services in July. By the end of this year, the company expects to launch its lending and credit account programs, and its investment product offerings will debut in 2022.
Former Brightwell chief enforcement officer Lynn Cherry is one of Greenwood’s latest hires.
Glover stated that by the end of the year, the company’s current headcount of seven would have grown to 40.
