[Funding alert] Junio raises additional Rs 5 Cr in seed round

Junio, a kids-focused digital pocket money startup, has raised an additional Rs 5 crore in funding from Venture Catalysts, HNI investors, and Family Offices led by the Rajiv Dadlani Group. With this round, the fintech startup has raised a total of Rs 15 crore in its seed round.

Founded by former Paytm executives, Junio will utilise this funding to develop its product, strengthen the team and launch customer acquisition initiatives.

Meanwhile, Junio also announced that it has crossed 50,000 users within a month of its launch. It claimed that the app has found strong acceptance among the parent-children community as a way for children to learn valuable lessons about money management and finance.

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In a statement, Co-founder Ankit Gera said, “We are thrilled with the early traction we are seeing in Junio. Over the next few months, we will roll out more interesting product features, and have a full-fledged marketing launch.”

He added that the investor backing will enable them to unlock new opportunities in kids-focused digital payment options in India.

On the investment into Junio, Rajiv Dadlani said, “There is a huge, inherent and unmet need, for Junio’s products amongst teenagers and the parent-children community. Given their vision and strong execution, also the digital pocket money/virtual card segment, being at a nascent stage in India, with huge growth potential.”

Founded in September 2020, the Junio smart card lets children make physical and online purchases (through the app) using digital pocket money. The goal is to promote desired behaviour among children along with developing an understanding of the value of hard-earned money.

In addition to instant pocket money transfer, the Junio app also allows parents to know about the spending done by their children. It also lets parents create in-app daily tasks for their kids and tie them with perks.