Jia is a web3 firm that offers blockchain-based loans, investments and ownership to businesses across the globe. Jia was founded in 2022 by former executives from Tala including Zach Marks, Cheng Cheng, Ivan Orone and Yuting Wang. The firm leverages the power of DeFi(Decentralized Finance) to offer loans to borrowers. The borrowers in turn, receive tokens after repayment and can later redeem them at a rate agreed upon based on Jia’s profits. In a nutshell, Jia is a blockchain-based fintech that offers loans to micro businesses in emerging markets.
Jia has recently secured $4.3 million in a seed financing round. In addition the firm also secured a $1 million commitment for on-chain liquidity. This funding round was led by TCG Crypto and garnered participation from other venture capitals including Blocktower Capital, Hashed emergent, Saison Capital and Global Coin Research. The round was also backed by several angel investors including Packy McCormick, Anand Iyer, Jared Hecht and Rory Eakin.
The fintech plans to use the proceeds of this financing round to double down operations in Kenya and The Philippines before exploring new markets in in Asia, Latin America and West Africa.
According to Mr. Marks, who also doubles as Jia’s CEO, the idea of the firm is to offer affordable financing for micro businesses and in turn get ownership through tokens awarded to them on repayment. He also added that each token has a claim to a stream of revenues from Jia’s protocol. Currently, the firm packages the tokens as Jia points which can be claimable once the token system infrastructure us fully established. In the meantime, borrowers can use Jia points as security for lower interest rates, higher loan amounts and more flexible loan terms.
The firm is trying to replicate community financing groups, which are popular in the Kenyan market. These community groups allow members to borrow, hold shares and earn from the groups. The firm is subsequently, promising its investors with the ability to earn sustainable yields powered by returns from real-world assets. Clients or borrowers on the other hand can receive fair and flexible financing to grow their businesses.
