Killer Mike’s Tech Firm Purchases Neobanking Startup to Build Financial Wealth In Minority Communities

Heightening the financial wealth within Black and Brown communities is a central focus for many Black-led companies.

The Atlanta-based digital banking platform Greenwood, the mobile banking app founded by Andrew Young and Killer Mike, has acquired Kinly, a mobile banking platform. Together, the large fintechs are working to build generational wealth for minorities.

“Kinly has always shared in our commitment to building a more transparent banking experience for Black Americans,” Ryan Glover, CEO and co-founder of Greenwood, said, according to a news release.

The partnership will grant over 300,000 Kinly users access to Greenwood’s fintech products.

“The acquisition of Kinly represents a massive milestone for Greenwood as we continue in our shared effort to elevate financial tools available for our community. In partnership with the Kinly team, we plan to grow our footprint and expand our services to provide best-in-class experiences for Black and brown families and businesses,” Glover added.

Greenwood’s executive management team will welcome Donald Hawkins, founder and CEO of Kinly, as its vice president to assist with financial service initiatives, goals for consumer-driven innovation, economic empowerment, and local business within Atlanta.

“Kinly’s mission of financial empowerment and wealth-building stems from lessons learned from Black America’s history,” Hawkins stated in the news release. “The needs of our communities are many, and I couldn’t be more excited to combine efforts with Greenwood to create lasting generational change.”

“It is another proud moment to again have two Black-owned companies on both sides of an M&A transaction,” said Greenwood board member Paul Judge. “This shows the power of collaboration within the community. It is often said that if you want to go far go together; this collaboration is a stellar example of that belief. We welcome Donald and Kinly to the Greenwood family.”

According to Crunchbase, Kinly previously raised $20 million in funding with investments from Forerunner Ventures, Point72 Ventures, Anthemis, Kapor Capital, Gabrielle Union, Kevin Durant, and Marshawn Lynch.

As previously reported by BLACK ENTERPRISE, Greenwood kicked off the “Bank Black” movement in 2020. The company announced in 2022 that it raised $45 million in venture capital funding to expand its digital banking services.