PANews reported on May 22 that Turkish fintech startup Colendi raised $65 million in its latest Series B funding round, reaching a valuation of $700 million, according to Bloomberg. The round was led by Citi Ventures, the venture capital arm of Citigroup, with other investors including Migros Ticaret AS, Sepil Ventures, Re-Pie Asset Management, Finberg, and Hedef Holding. Colendi co-founder and CEO Bulent Tekmen stated that existing investors also participated in this round of funding.

The Turkish banking regulator has approved Colendi's application to establish a digital bank in 2023. Tekmen said that the oversubscribed Series B funding round provided the necessary capital to establish Colendi Bank. The company plans to dual-list in Istanbul and London and aims to be ready for an initial public offering (IPO) by 2026. Istanbul-based Colendi launched a new funding round in March, targeting to raise over $150 million by the end of this year. Tekmen expects that after this round of funding, Colendi's valuation will reach $1 billion, making it a "unicorn" company.

Colendi currently has 17 million users in Turkey and aims to expand into populous emerging markets such as Pakistan and Indonesia, ultimately achieving a goal of 1 billion users. This funding will drive Colendi's mission to become a major digital banking entity in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and Turkic countries.