Luno launches Luno Expeditions

• Early stage investment arm to support fintechs, crypto founders 
• Targeting 200-300 investment a year, expanding focus beyond crypto

Luno, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Digital Currency Group (DCG), announced the launch of Luno Expeditions, a global, early-stage investment arm to support the best fintech and crypto/web3 founders on their journeys to build the next generation of financial services.
 
Building on DCG’s seven year track record in early stage crypto investing, Luno Expeditions will now spearhead all of DCG’s early stage investing (seed and pre-seed), the company said in a statement. 

The dedicated team will scale up investments (targeting 200-300 per year) and expand the focus beyond crypto into the broader fintech space, globally, it added.
 
Luno Expeditions will be led by Jocelyn Cheng, who takes on the role of chief executive officer (CEO), Luno said.

“We’ve got ambitious plans to build a leading fund designed around the needs of early stage founders. It will be a privilege to work with ambitious entrepreneurs from all over the world, all intent on solving problems and building the next generation of financial service companies,” she said.
 
Marcus Swanepoel, Luno’s co-founder and CEO said: “We know how hard it is to build a company, especially in the fintech space, and with our deep experience building, scaling and operating fintech businesses in some of the hardest markets in the world, we’re looking to support a new generation of entrepreneurs from all over the world to do the same.”
 
Whilst in stealth mode over the past few months, Luno Expeditions said it has already invested in over 20 leading crypto and fintech companies globally, including a crypto compliance solution in Israel, an NFT marketplace in the United States, a bank dedicated to women in Pakistan and a ground-breaking remittance solution in Tanzania.
 
Barry Silbert, founder and CEO of DCG, and Marcus Swanepoel, co-founder and CEO of Luno, are both closely involved in the initiative and will be part of the Investment Committee, the company said.