Totem, a challenger bank in Tulsa, Okla., that plans to offer banking services to Native Americans, has raised $2.2 million of preseed funding.
Totem said in a press release that it will use the funds to hire personnel and develop an app.
Raven Indigenous Capital Partners, a Canadian firm that invests in indigenous social enterprises, led the funding round. Other investors included the Alloy Alchemist Fund, Candide Group, Debut Capital and Ruthless for Good.
Totem aims “to change the status quo and create a new tradition of Native wealth-building,” Amber Buker, the challenger bank’s CEO, said in the release. “We’re doing it in a way that honors and uplifts our people.”
Buker previously served as Alloy Labs Alliance’s director of insights. Alloy is an investor in the effort.
Totem aims to go live in 2023.