Guava

Guava is a digital bank that serves African-American entrepreneurs and SMEs. It offers online and mobile banking, and does not require customers to maintain a minimum balance on their accounts. In addition, Guava also offers a community platform called Huddle, which facilitates entrepreneurs and members to engage, collaborate, and provide support to foster the growth and scaling of their businesses. Huddle also provides unique benefits to its members such as discounts, access to live events, focused content from industry experts, and access to funding vehicles.

Key customers and partnerships

Guava does not have its own banking license and offers its services in partnership with Piermont Bank. As of August 2022, it was open for new sign-ups to join its waitlist and was set to launch officially in early-2023.

Funding and financials

In July 2022, Guava raised USD 2.4 million in pre-seed funding led by Heron Rock with participation from Ruthless for Good Fund, Precursor Ventures, and Backstage Capital, along with notable angel investors Lexi Reese (General Catalyst) and Ed Zimmerman (founding partner at First Close Partners). The company had earmarked the funds for recruitment and development of new credit products. In addition, it raised a further USD 650,000 as an extension to its pre-seed round led by Laidlaw Scholars Ventures in February 2023. The company had planned to use these proceeds to expand its product offering and improve its community features, such as sharing insights and best practices with its customers.