DemystData, a technology startup that helps financial institutions tap into the explosive growth of online, social, and internal data announced today that it has closed on a Series A investment led by Accion and Arbor Partners Asia. The company's product, https://demystdata.com, enables real-time analysis of both consumer and small business profiles allowing for better decisioning as a result of richer, more relevant information. DemystData will use the new funding to grow its team of engineers and data scientists to support increasing demand globally.

Mark Hookey, Founder and CEO of DemystData, commented, "This investment will bolster our ability to develop products that allow financial instituions to leverage some of the world's newest data sources and gain instant access to deeper customer profiles. Large banks and emerging disruptive lenders have an increasing need to know more about their customers; yet, they are too often constrained by the limitations of credit bureau data and complicated IT integration processes. DemystData uses big data and emerging technologies to solve this growing problem."

Paul Breloff, Managing Director of the Accion Venture Lab, an Accion seed investment initiative managing the Demyst investment, said: "Our investment in Demyst highlights our focus on technology and business model innovations that have the potential to radically improve financial access for the globally underserved and socioeconomic base of the pyramid. Demyst is a breakthrough technology that can help financial institutions around the world, including microfinance institutions, more efficiently and responsibly reach neglected customer segments with credit and other financial services. Partnering with Demyst helps us unlock both the financial and social returns of reaching these customers."

Melissa Guzy, founder of Arbor Partners Asia, said: "We are excited to partner with Mark and his team at DemystData as we strengthen our focus on early stage investments in big data startups that drive real business results, from the infrastructure level right through to analytics. Demyst's solutions can provide business-ready insight to change the way financial institutions evaluate consumer credit risk and gain nuanced understanding of their customers. We see huge potential for growth for this technology as financial institutions use it to make more informed investment decisions to extend their lending capabilities, while minimizing risk."

Demyst currently processes millions of transactions for clients in the United States, Asia, and Europe. Financial institutions including large global banks, online lenders, and under-banked service providers can realize 20% growth opportunity by sourcing, evaluating, and serving financial services customers with the DemystData platform.

About DemystData
Founded in 2010, DemystData helps financial institutions optimize customer interactions through improved access to information. We bring together the best available online, social, and internal company data to create more comprehensive profiles and refined customer predictions. This happens in real time and is delivered via an API. DemystData has offices in New York and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit: https://demystdata.com

About Accion:
Accion is a global nonprofit dedicated to building a financially inclusive world, with access to economic opportunity for all, by giving people the financial tools they need to improve their lives. A world pioneer in microfinance, Accion has helped build 62 microfinance institutions in 31 countries, reaching millions of clients on four continents over the last 50 years. The Accion U.S. Network is the largest microfinance network in the country and, since inception, has served hundreds of thousands of clients with loans and support. The Accion Venture Lab is a seed investment initiative that supports innovative startups and early-stage enterprises in the financial inclusion space. For further information, visit http://www.accion.org/venturelab.

About Arbor Partners Asia
Arbor Partners Asia ("Arbor Asia") is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on partnering with companies throughout the Big Data ecosystem that address the massive amount of information being generated and collected online. Arbor Asia invests in companies developing the enabling technology as well as the applications and services to transform vertical markets by extracting intelligent and actionable analysis with a focus on end markets in Asia. The firm was founded in 2012 by a group of experienced investment professionals in Silicon Valley, China and Hong Kong, led by industry veteran Melissa Guzy. The Arbor Asia team has a successful track record of investing in, growing, and exiting venture investment opportunities in the U.S. and Asia, and years of entrepreneurial experience building innovative technology companies.