Germany-based Kontist raised a USD $29.5 million B round of venture capital for its neobank (the buzz-term for an online-only bank) and tax service for the self-employed. While Kontist appears to be currently focused on the German market, it represents what we predict to be an emerging global work tech trend. Marketplaces and services that are built to serve the growing market of freelancers and solopreneurs.
Kontist combines banking, bookkeeping, and taxes in one application, providing seamless access to tax estimates, payments, filing services, expense tracking reportedly powered by machine learning, and inbound and outbound payment processing.
The contingent workforce has been steadily growing for decades as it approached 50% of the total workforce pre-pandemic, that trend will only be accelerated as employers “hedge their bets” during an uncertain post-pandemic economic recovery. Regardless of the economic climate, the market supporting the independent workforce is burgeoning and we expect to see more smart models, like Kontist, emerge across the spectrum of tech and services.