D.C.’s Zeal Capital Partners has made its first local investment, about a year after raising $62 million that it’s been deploying into fintech and future of work companies with diverse leadership across the U.S.
The venture capital firm, led by former AT&T executive Nasir Qadree, has put $1 million into EQL Finance Inc. as the lead investor in the startup’s $2.4 million seed financing round. The 1-year-old D.C. fintech offers interest-free loans to consumers struggling to make ends meet and aims to make its money largely by selling financial education tools.
New York’s Acumen Fund and Burlingame, California’s Goodwater Capital participated in EQL’s funding round, as did local and international angels, according to EQL co-founder and CEO Eddie de Guia. Prior to this round, the company had raised $200,000 from angel investors and Boulder, Colorado-based Techstars. EQL was part of the accelerator operator’s initial Equitech Accelerator cohort, built for startups led by underrepresented…
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