Monica Brand Engel

Co-founder and Managing Partner at Quona Capital (We’re hiring!)

📍 Washington, District of Columbia, United States🔄 Updated September 2026💼 14 investments📅 18 years investing🗓 Last invested Mar 2022𝕏 @upgrade_to_unlock
VC🌍 United States
14
Total investments
3
Early stage
5
Mid stage
2
Late stage
18y
Years active

Portfolio

11 investments · sorted by recency
All investments
Early stage
Mid stage
Late stage
Board Member
Mar 2022
Khazna is a leading financial Super App that offers easy-to-use, technology-driven financial services to Egypt’s underserved segments. Khazna’s services include salary and pension advances, the Khazna prepaid card, and bill payments. The company’s vision is to provide formal financial services to people who lack access and to digitize cash transactions across Egypt & soon in KSA. Khazna is led by a management team boasting decades of cumulative experience in technology, banking and financial services.
Board Member
Jul 2021
Verto is a global B2B payments solution that helps businesses send money to anyone, anywhere. Using a purposefully built tech infrastructure and payment rails, you can instantly send and receive money in over 200 countries. Today, Verto helps 1000+ customers from startups, SMEs to large corporate companies convert millions of dollars per year. Using our liquidity and price discovery marketplace solution, new customers can convert between 49 currencies, open bank account or wallets in seconds and make payments on a single platform.
Board Member
Jun 2021
Capiter brings a hybrid business model to the B2B e-commerce market combining the operations, marketplace, and financing business models with technology, serving MSMEs across the food and beverage, FMCG, and electronics sectors. It’s a marketplace where MSMEs can order inventory, obtain delivery, and access buy-now-pay-later (SNPL) financing facilities via one single platform.
Board Member
Feb 2020
Wasoko is transforming communities across Africa by revolutionizing access to essential goods and services. By connecting small shops to the digital economy, we fix inefficient supply chains and provide services that were previously unavailable. Wasoko aims to provide everything a retailer needs, no wholesalers or banks necessary. Thousands of retailers across Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda use Wasokos mobile ordering and delivery service to receive the goods they need as quickly and cheaply as possible while also accessing growth financing for the first time.
Board Member
Feb 2020
Sokowatch is transforming communities across Africa by revolutionizing access to essential goods and services. By connecting small shops to the digital economy, we fix inefficient supply chains and provide services that were previously unavailable. Sokowatch aims to provide everything a retailer needs, no wholesalers or banks necessary. Thousands of retailers across Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda use Sokowatch's mobile ordering and delivery service to receive the goods they need as quickly and cheaply as possible while also accessing growth financing for the first time.
Board Member
Feb 2017
Yoco is the all-in-one digital commerce platform for small businesses. As one of Africa’s largest fintech companies, we make it easy to sell anywhere, manage your business from anywhere, and grow with smart insights—all under one Yoco profile. Founded in 2015, weve helped over 200,000 small businesses across South Africa accept card payments and access capital—often for the first time. Our ecosystem of payments, software, and tools works seamlessly under one Yoco account. Behind it all is a global team of 350+ people across South Africa and the Netherlands, building world-class solutions for small business growth. Awards and Accolades: CNBC: Top 250 innovative fintech companies (2024) Brand Africa Award: Top 3 Inspirational Youth-Founded Companies (2024) Financial Times Africa: Fastest Growing Companies (2022) Fast Company: Best Workplaces for Innovators (2020 + 2021)
Board member
Feb 2014
Imagine if your bank took 7% of every transfer you made. Sounds crazy, doesnt it? And yet its reality for hard-working people who send money abroad. Azimo was founded in 2012 with a strong social purpose: to make it cheaper and easier for people to support their loved ones back home.
Board Member
May 2012
TIAXA provides innovative financial services to people across the globe, with a particular focus on financial inclusion through mobile technology. Each day, Tiaxa provides more than 2 million Nano-Credits through users'​ mobile Operators in 14 countries including Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and the Philippines. Tiaxa also provides the mobile telecommunications market with infrastructure, clearinghouse and revenue enhancement services, improving the efficiency with which the current prepaid user base is managed, and increasing revenues for Operators around the world, including China Telecom, Telefónica Movistar, America Móvil and Smart Communications. Altogether, with 60 installations in 20 countries and more than 300 million end-users, the Company processes 3 billion transactions per month, managing close to US$ 2 billion in income for its clients, and growing at 50%+ per year. Tiaxa’s Managed Services offering is based on a combination of proprietary, patented software platforms and business methods, user-centric business analytics and 7x24 operational services, in the rating and charging, as well as the user-balance management and financial services realms, in order to achieve significant increases in mobile financial services uptake, mobile usage, stickiness, ARPU and revenue. Tiaxa is headquartered in Chile, and has presence in Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Germany, Hong Kong, México, Peru, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
Board member
Apr 2012
At Shubham Housing Finance Company, we provide affordable housing finance solutions to individuals, irrespective of their income source, with the aim of turning their dream homes into a reality. From entrepreneurs to homeowners, our goal is to help to fulfill their dreams through cost-effective housing finance solutions that align with their needs and financial stability. In an effort to help aspiring homeowners find their happy places, we continue to expand our reach. As of 2023, we have grown our presence with 140+ branches spread across 116 cities in 12 states across India. With minimal documentation and easy EMI options, we aim to make home loan process convenient for all. Our ultimate goal: To deliver the happiness of home ownership by making housing finance affordable and accessible for all! Ab hoga aapki #KhushiyonKaShubhaarambh
Board Member
Mar 2012
Zoona is an African Fintech provider with an interoperable distribution network, bringing together the drive of young entrepreneurs and the power of cutting-edge technology to bring safe and reliable financial services to underserved communities all over Africa! All over Africa, people rely on their families and communities for support in helping them pay their school fees, cope with emergencies, and save for their future. The community is at the center of their lives, and these are the communities Zoona is here to serve. We believe that Africa is the next frontier of innovation and that through entrepreneurship, women empowerment, and technology, we’ll be able to unlock the true potential of our continent! We’re on a mission to empower emerging entrepreneurs across Africa, and enable a new generation of independent, thriving business owners. We’re passionate about growth in Africa, and as such, our business goals are sculpted around the success of the communities and entrepreneurs we serve. Africa is awakening! Technology has unleashed a wave of change across the continent and has improved thousands of lives.
Board Member
Sep 2010
GTV GlobokasNet LLC. cuya sede está en Maryland EE.UU. Fue fundada en el año 2007 para extender la presencia y cobertura de las entidades financieras y comerciales a nivel nacional, por lo que en ese mismo año fundan en el Perú, la subsidiaria, GLOBOKAS PERU SA. Nuestra cobertura es nacional con flexibilidad para desplegar un Agente KasNet en cualquier zona urbana y/o rural en el Perú. Nuestros Agentes KasNet se pueden conectar a una red satelital, que nos posibilita llegar a más de 6.000 localidades en el país. Somos la única red de agentes corresponsales operando con diversas entidades como: Mibanco, BBVA Banco Continental, Backus, Caja Nuestra Gente, Caja Sullana , Financiera TFC y Caja Huancayo. MISION Y VISION Nuestra Visión Hacer realidad la inclusión económica y social de cualquier persona, en cualquier lugar, sin importar la distancia o densidad poblacional. Nuestra Misión Permitir que cualquier agente económico pueda atender a sus clientes a través de nuestra red de agentes KasNet, donde quiera que se encuentre, de un modo económico.
mid stageBanking
Experience · 20 entries
All (20)
Investments (14)
Founder (2)
Board (13)
2022
Board Director
Sep 2022
Twinco "cracked the supply chain finance code" - by finally providing a solution that includes Purchase Order financing. We combine technology and privileged access to data to assess performance risk, allowing us to fund both small and large suppliers across the world, from the moment they receive a purchase order until final invoice payment. It is a unique model that significantly reduces financing costs and improves supply reliability, with benefits for both suppliers and buyers. Twinco has already funded millions of purchase orders for suppliers of European corporates. Small and medium sized companies located in Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong SAR, Pakistan, South Korea, Turkey, Vietnam, Indonesia and Bulgaria were able to leverage on the strength of their commercial relationships to reduce costs and increase sales. Many more are signing up, from all around the world. However, we are just starting... We will continue to grow until we truly transform the way global production is financed. Our mission is clear: to give producers all over the world access to affordable working capital, fostering competitive global production networks and empowering companies to be the motor of inclusive growth and improved livelihoods.
Board Member
Mar 2022
Khazna is a leading financial Super App that offers easy-to-use, technology-driven financial services to Egypt’s underserved segments. Khazna’s services include salary and pension advances, the Khazna prepaid card, and bill payments. The company’s vision is to provide formal financial services to people who lack access and to digitize cash transactions across Egypt & soon in KSA. Khazna is led by a management team boasting decades of cumulative experience in technology, banking and financial services.
2021
Board Member
Jul 2021
Verto is a global B2B payments solution that helps businesses send money to anyone, anywhere. Using a purposefully built tech infrastructure and payment rails, you can instantly send and receive money in over 200 countries. Today, Verto helps 1000+ customers from startups, SMEs to large corporate companies convert millions of dollars per year. Using our liquidity and price discovery marketplace solution, new customers can convert between 49 currencies, open bank account or wallets in seconds and make payments on a single platform.
Board Member
Jun 2021
Capiter brings a hybrid business model to the B2B e-commerce market combining the operations, marketplace, and financing business models with technology, serving MSMEs across the food and beverage, FMCG, and electronics sectors. It’s a marketplace where MSMEs can order inventory, obtain delivery, and access buy-now-pay-later (SNPL) financing facilities via one single platform.
2020
Board Member
Feb 2020
Wasoko is transforming communities across Africa by revolutionizing access to essential goods and services. By connecting small shops to the digital economy, we fix inefficient supply chains and provide services that were previously unavailable. Wasoko aims to provide everything a retailer needs, no wholesalers or banks necessary. Thousands of retailers across Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda use Wasokos mobile ordering and delivery service to receive the goods they need as quickly and cheaply as possible while also accessing growth financing for the first time.
Show all 20 entries ↓
Investment activity
2008–2022 · 14 investments
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