NIGERIA – Sycamore, a Nigerian peer-to-peer (P2P) loan firm, has raised an undisclosed seed round as it looks to expand its operation.
The undisclosed seed funding round was led by US-based VC firm White Hibiscus Capital (WHC), with the participation of other private investors.
The funding will enable Sycamore to boost market awareness, double down on its financial education drive, and hire adequate engineering talent, all in order to increase its capacity as it initiates a plan to scale to other African countries.
“Sycamore is doing an amazing job of getting loans to small businesses in record time,” said Bade Aluko, managing partner at WHC.
“I love the team’s technologically-driven approach to making things seamless for its customers, and WHC looks forward to having Sycamore operational in other African countries.”
Founded in 2019 by Babatunde Akin-Moses, Onyinye Okonji, and Mayowa Adeosun, Sycamore uses proprietary risk assessment tools to disburse business loans on the same day via its web and newly-released mobile app.
The startup has already disbursed millions of dollars to thousands of small businesses in Nigeria and has also released a feature allowing users to manage loans given to loved ones.
The start-up’s app’s “Loan Friends”’ feature enables people to make a loan request from a friend or family member, sends scheduled reminders, and automatically collect the loan on the due date.
“We’ve always been paranoid about giving our customers unique experiences. We didn’t want to just push out another “loan app” into the market without offering any additional value to them,” said Adeosun, Sycamore’s COO.
“Being the customer-centric business that we are, we engaged our customers on their needs. We are proud that our app does face every day – the management of loans given to – or received from – friends and family almost every day.”
The lending platform aims to simplify the process of obtaining a business loan that would otherwise require numerous documents imposed by microfinance and banking institutions.
Mobile app development for loan lending has grown to be one of the most effective and inventive ways for fintech organizations to provide value to their clients.
A loan lending mobile app enables businesses to offer products and services in a variety of ways while maintaining a strong focus on the user experience.
Loan lending mobile apps, often known as money lending apps, have grown quite popular due to the wide range of use instances they may cover.
Users in need of a loan can quickly acquire a microloan through a loan app, bypassing the complexity of traditional banks.
Although loan lending apps may appear to be insignificant, some of them are revolutionizing the financial business.
When used correctly, a loan lending app has the potential to provide financial resources to people who might be excluded from the regular banking system.
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