Luno, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Digital Currency Group (“DCG”), has 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.
The Luno Expeditions Team (from L to R): Margaux Duterte, Mira Christanto, Jocelyn Cheng, Katharine Suy, and Aditi Khimasis.
Building on DCG’s 7-year track record in early stage crypto investing, Luno Expeditions will now spearhead all of DCG’s early sage investing (seed and pre-seed).
“I am thrilled to join Luno Expeditions as Chief Executive. These are incredibly exciting times in cryptocurrency and the broader fintech ecosystem. 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,” said Jocelyn Cheng, CEO, Luno Expeditions.
The dedicated team will scale up investments (targeting 200-300 per year) and expand the focus beyond crypto into the broader fintech space, globally.
Luno Expeditions will be led by Jocelyn Cheng, who takes on the role of CEO.
Whilst in stealth mode over the past few months, Luno Expeditions 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 Luno Expeditions Team
Jocelyn Cheng, CEO
Jocelyn has invested in global startup founders over the last 6 years as Managing Director at the impact investment VC, Global Innovation Fund. She previously held investing roles at CPP Investments, Bain Capital and Goldman Sachs. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business school.
Mira Christanto, Director of Investments
“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,” commented Marcus Swanepoel, Luno co-founder and CEO.
Before joining Luno Expeditions, Mira was a senior research analyst at the leading crypto firm Messari. She moved full-time to crypto after working for 15 years at institutional investments funds between Wall Street and Hong Kong.
Aditi Khimasis, Head of Legal
Aditi is an experienced legal professional with extensive VC experience both in house and at leading legal firms across a number of emerging and developed jurisdictions. She was previously Legal Counsel at Anthemis Group.
Katharine Suy, Chief Marketing Officer
Katharine is a seasoned crypto marketer who has worked in the industry over the last 5 years. She joins Luno Expeditions with over 15 years experience in digital marketing, content creation and entrepreneurship across UK, Vietnam & Australia.
Margaux Duterte, Investment Analyst
Before joining Luno Expeditions, Margaux worked with fintechs and payment partners across Africa for 3 years at Luno. She previously held finance roles at BNP Paribas and worked in France, Portugal and South Africa. She holds a Masters in Corporate Finance from Paris Dauphine.
Tags: Fintech, investments, Luno