Frederik Pfisterer studied in Carnegie Mellon University's Master of Human-Computer Interaction programme. His one-year capstone project, with Eugene Danilkis, Sofia Nunes, Josh Coe and Joydeep Sengupta, was about microlending. The team did field research with microfinance institutions in Mozambique.
They saw small lenders tracking loans with tools built for large banks. A better interface and a more flexible core could change that. When the year ended, three of the five kept going. Danilkis managed the project, Pfisterer led the technology and Nunes brought the psychology.
They set up Mambu in Berlin in 2011. The first customers were microfinance providers, and the same flexible core later suited banks and fintechs. A round of about €30 million led by Bessemer came in 2019, and €110 million in January 2021 valued the company at $1.7 billion.
In December 2021 EQT Growth led a round of about €235 million at about €4.9 billion. In 2022 Mambu had $165 million of contracted annual recurring revenue. Danilkis stepped down as CEO in June 2023 and the company is now headquartered in Amsterdam.