NIGERIA – Bankly, a fintech startup digitizing cash for the unbanked, has announced that it has raised US$2 million in a seed round to accelerate its consumer acquisition and offer direct-to-consumer (DTC) products to Nigeria’s unbanked and underbanked populations.
The seed round was led by Vault with participation from Plug and Play Ventures, Rising Tide Africa and Chrysalis Capital.
With the fundraise, Bankly aims to increase its 35,000-customer base in cash-dependent communities by growing the number of its physical “cash in” points by expanding its 15,000 person agent network and plugging its API into partner networks.
“Partnerships, collaboration, and a deep understanding of the needs of the unbanked will be vital to our success.”
Tomilola Adejana – CEO and co-founder, Bankly
Bankly will also develop DTC products for its customer base that will be available through its app and USSD channels. Over the next three years, Bankly aims to grow its customer base to two million unbanked Nigerians.
The startup was founded in 2018 by Tomilola Adejana and Fredrick Adams and went live in July 2019. In 2020, Adejana hinted of their plans to scale up in Northern Nigerian.
“We’re thrilled to have closed this milestone fundraise and to have such seasoned fintech investors who understand the market join us on this journey to bank Nigeria’s unbanked. Our goal has always been to reach the last mile using a fast-moving consumer strategy,” said Tomilola Adejana, chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of Bankly.
“Now we have built the agent network and are poised to serve customers directly via offline and online channels. Partnerships, collaboration, and a deep understanding of the needs of the unbanked will be vital to our success.”
Vault partner Idris Alubankudi Saliu said his company was delighted to participate in this financing round as Bankly moves into its next growth stage.
Vault is the holding company for VANSO, a fintech company that was acquired by Interswitch. Plug and Play Ventures, Rising Tide Africa and Chrysalis Capital also invested in the round.
“Given our over 20 years experience in Nigeria’s fintech industry and previous exits, we strongly believe that Bankly understands the nuanced needs of this market – not to mention the team, strategy, and technology — to succeed in bringing affordable financial services to the unbanked,” he said.
Bankly digitizes financial services for people in the informal sector, usually small-scale traders who save through rotating savings and credit associations, colloquially known as “ajo” or “esusu” in Nigeria.
